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PUBLIC SPEAKING 



BY 

CLARENCE STRATTON, Ph.D. 

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT, CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL 



DIVISION OP UNIVERSITY EXTENSION, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 



SAINT LOUIS 




NEW YORK 
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 









Copyright, 1920 

BY 
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 



C1A570724 



15 1920 



lA© ( 



To 
C. C. S. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Speech 1 

II. The Voice 14 

III. Words and Sentences 37 

IV. Beginning the Speech 70 

V. Concluding the Speech 95 

VI. Getting Material 121 

VII. Planning the Speech 143 

VIII. Making the Outline or Brief 164 

IX. Explaining 194 

X. Proving and Persuading 218 

XI. Refuting 242 

XII. Debating 258 

XIII. Speaking upon Special Occasions 278 

XIV. Dramatics 291 

Appendix A 327 

Appendix B 333 

Index 339 






PREFATORY NOTE 

This book on public speaking attempts to provide 
fundamental rules and enough exercises to train 
members of a class to become effective speakers be- 
fore audiences. It aims to be practical. The idea 
underlying the treatment is that the student will 
be continually doing much more speaking than study- 
ing. The greater part of most of the class sessions 
should be devoted to practice in speaking. 

Teachers may not be able to use all the material 
and exercises in the volume. Omissions will be 
determined by local conditions and special purposes. 
It would be quite practicable to use the book during 
an entire term or year and go no farther than through 
Explaining (Chapter IX), reserving for the following 
term or year the remainder of the volume dealing with 
forms of argumentation. 

The exercises are merely suggestive. They can be 
adapted easily to various conditions of locality, age, 
previous education, and personal interests of the mem- 
bers of the class. Their content, form, and purpose 
are the result of training both young and mature 
student speakers in classes in high school, law school, 
and university. C. S. 

Saint Louis 
1920 



PUBLIC SPEAKING 

CHAPTER I 
SPEECH 

Importance of Speech. There never has been in 
the history of the world a time when the spoken word 
has been equaled in value and importance by any 
other means of communication. If one traces the 
development of mankind from what he considers its 
earliest stage he will find that the wandering family 
of savages depended entirely upon what its members 
said to one another. A little later when a group of 
families made a clan or tribe the individuals still 
heard the commands of the leader, or in tribal council 
voiced their own opinions. The beginnings of poetry 
show us the bard who recited to his audiences. Drama, 
in all primitive societies a valuable spreader of knowl- 
edge, entertainment, and religion, is entirely oral. 
In so late and well-organized communities as the 
city republics of Greece all matters were discussed 
in open assemblies of the rather small populations. 

Every great epoch of the world's progress shows the 
supreme importance of speech upon human action — 
individual and collective. In the Roman Forum 
were made speeches that affected the entire ancient 
world. Renaissance Italy, imperial Spain, unwieldy 
Russia, freedom-loving England, revolutionary France, 



2 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

all experienced periods when the power of certain men 
to speak stirred other men into tempestuous action. 

The history of the United States might almost be 
written as the continuous record of the influence of 
great speakers upon others. The colonists were led 
to concerted action by persuasive speeches. The 
Colonial Congresses and Constitutional Convention 
were dominated by powerful orators. The history 
of the slavery problem is mainly the story of famous 
speeches and debates. Most of the active represen- 
tative Americans have been leaders because of their 
ability to impress their fellows by their power 
of expressing sentiments and enthusiasms which all 
would voice if they could. Presidents have been 
nominated and candidates elected because of this 
equipment. 

During the Great War the millions of the world 
were as much concerned with what some of their 
leaders were saying as with what their other leaders 
were doing. 1 

Speech in Modern Life. There is no aspect of 
modern life in which the spoken work is not supreme 
in importance. Representatives of the nations of 
the world deciding upon a peace treaty and deliberat- 
ing upon a League of Nations sway and are swayed 
by speech. National assemblies — from the strangely 
named new ones of infant nations to the century-old 
organizations — speak, and listen to speeches. In 
state legislatures, municipal councils, law courts, 
religious organizations, theaters, lodges, societies, 

1 See Great American Speeches, edited by Clarence Stratton, Lippin- 
cott and Company. 



SPEECH 3 

boards of directors, stockholders' meetings, business 
discussions, classrooms, dinner parties, social func- 
tions, friendly calls — in every human relationship 
where two people meet there is communication by 
means of speech. 

Scientific invention keeps moving as rapidly as it 
can to take advantage of this supreme importance. 
Great as was the advance marked by the telegraph, 
it was soon overtaken and passed by the convenience 
of the telephone. The first conveys messages at 
great distance, but it fails to give the answer at once. 
It fails to provide for the rapid interchange of ideas 
which the second affords. Wireless telegraphy has 
already been followed by wireless telephony. The 
rapid intelligent disposal of the complicated affairs 
of our modern world requires more than mere writing — 
it demands immediate interchange of ideas by means 
of speech. 

Many people who in their habitual occupa- 
tions are popularly said to write a great deal do nothing 
of the sort. The millions of typists in the world do 
no writing at all in the real sense of that word; they 
merely reproduce what some one else has actually 
composed and dictated. This latter person also does 
no actual writing. He speaks what he wants to have 
put into writing. Dictating is not an easily acquired 
accomplishment in business — as many a man will 
testify. Modern office practice has intensified the 
difficulty. It may be rather disconcerting to deliver 
well-constructed, meaningful sentences to an un- 
responsive stenographer, but at any rate the receiver 
is alive. But to talk into the metallic receiver of a 



4 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

mechanical dictaphone has an almost ridiculous air. 
Men have to train themselves deliberately to speak 
well when they first begin to use these time-saving 
devices. Outside of business, a great deal of the 
material printed in periodicals and books — some- 
times long novels — has been delivered orally, and 
not written at all by its author. Were anything 
more needed to show how much speech is used it 
would be furnished by the reports of the telephone 
companies. In one table the number of daily con- 
nections in 1895 was 2,351,420. In 1918 this item 
had increased to 31,263,611. In twenty-three years 
the calls had grown fifteen times as numerous. In 1882 
there were 100,000 subscriber stations. In 1918 this 
number had swelled to 11,000,000. 

Subordinates and executives in all forms of business 
could save incalculable time and annoyance by being 
able to present their material clearly and forcefully 
over the telephone, as well as in direct face-to-face 
intercourse. 

The Director of high schools in a large municipality 
addressed a circular letter to the business firms of 
the city, asking them to state what is most necessary 
in order to fit boys for success in business. Ninety- 
nine per cent laid stress on the advantage of being 
able to write and speak English accurately and forcibly. 

Testimony in support of the statement that training 
in speaking is of paramount importance in all careers 
might be adduced from a score of sources. Even from 
the seemingly far-removed phase of military leadership 
comes the same support. The following paragraph 
is part of a letter issued by the office of the Adjutant- 



SPEECH 5 

General during the early months of the participation 
of this country in the Great War. 

" A great number of men have failed at camp because of 
inability to articulate clearly. A man who cannot impart 
his idea to his command in clear distinct language, and with 
sufficient volume of voice to be heard reasonably far, is not 
qualified to give command upon which human life will 
depend. Many men disqualified by this handicap might 
have become officers under their country's flag had they 
been properly trained in school and college. It is to be 
hoped therefore that more emphasis will be placed upon 
the basic principles of elocution in the training of our youth. 
Even without prescribed training in elocution a great im- 
provement could be wrought by the instructors in our 
schools and colleges, regardless of the subjects, by insisting 
that all answers be given in a loud, clear, well rounded voice 
which, of course, necessitates the opening of the mouth and 
free movement of the lips. It is remarkable how many 
excellent men suffer from this handicap, and how almost 
impossible it is to correct this after the formative years of 
life." 

Perhaps the most concise summary of the relative 
values of exercise in the three different forms of com- 
munication through language was enunciated by 
Francis Bacon in his essay entitled Studies, published 
first in 1597: "Reading maketh a full man; con- 
ference a ready man; and writing an exact man." 

Speech and Talk. The high value here placed upon 
speech must not be transferred to mere talk. The 
babbler will always be justly regarded with contempt. 
Without ideas, opinions, information, talk becomes 
the most wasteful product in the world, wasteful not 
only of the time of the person who insists upon deliver- 



6 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

ing it, but more woefully and unjustifiably wasteful 
of the time and patience of those poor victims who 
are forced to listen to it. Shakespeare put a man 
of this disposition into The Merchant of Venice and 
then had his discourse described by another. 

" Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing, more than 
any man in all Venice. His reasons are as two grains of 
wheat hid in two bushels of chaff: you shall seek all day 
ere you find them, and when you have them, they are not 
worth the search." 

But the man who has ideas and can best express 
them is a leader everywhere. He does the organizing, 
he makes and imparts the plans, he carries his own 
theories and beliefs into execution, he is the intrusted 
agent, the advanced executive. He can act for him- 
self. He can influence others to significant and pur- 
poseful action. The advantages that come to men 
who can think upon their feet, who can express ex- 
tempore a carefully considered proposition, who can 
adapt their conversation or arguments to every chang- 
ing condition, cannot be emphasized too strongly. 

Speech an Acquired Ability. We frequently regard 
and discuss speech as a perfectly natural attribute of 
all human beings. In some sense it is. Yet an 
American child left to the care of deaf-mutes, never 
hearing the speech of his own kind, would not develop 
into a speaker of the native language of his parents. 
He doubtless would be able to imitate every natural 
sound he might hear. He could reproduce the cry 
or utterance of every animal or bird he had ever heard. 
But he would no more speak English naturally than 
he would Arabic. In this sense, language is not a 



SPEECH 7 

natural attribute as is hunger. It is an imitative ac- 
complishment acquired only after long years of patient 
practice and arduous effort. Some people never 
really attain a facile mastery of the means of com- 
munication. Some mature men and women are no 
more advanced in the use of speech than children of 
ten or fifteen. The practice is life-long. The effort 
is unceasing. 

A child seems to be as well adapted to learning one 
language as another. There may be certain physical 
formations or powers inherited from a race which pre- 
dispose the easier mastery of a language, but even these 
handicaps for learning a different tongue can be over- 
come by imitation, study, and practice. Any child 
can be taught an alien tongue through constant com- 
panionship of nurse or governess. The second gen- 
eration of immigrants to this country learns our 
speech even while it may continue the tongue of the 
native land. The third generation — if it mix con- 
tinuously with speakers of English — relinquishes 
entirely the exercise of the mother tongue. The suc- 
ceeding generation seldom can speak it, frequently 
cannot even understand it. 

Training to Acquire Speech Ability. The methods 
by which older persons may improve their ability to 
speak are analogous to those just suggested as operative 
for children, except that the more mature the person 
the wider is his range of models to imitate, of examples 
from which to make deductions; the more resources 
he has within himself and about him for self-develop- 
ment and improvement. A child's vocabulary in- 
creases rapidly through new experiences. A mature 



PUBLIC SPEAKING 



person can create new surroundings. He can de- 
liberately widen his horizon either by reading or 
association. The child is mentally alert. A man 
can keep himself intellectually alert. A child delights 
in his use of his powers of expression. A man can 
easily make his intercourse a source of delight to him- 
self and to all with whom he comes in contact. A 
child's imagination is kept stimulated continually. 
A man can consciously stimulate either his imagination 
or his reason. In the democracy of childhood the 
ability to impress companions depends to a great 
extent upon the ability to speak. There is no necessity 
of following the parallel any farther. 

Good speakers, then, are made, not born. Train- 
ing counts for as much as natural ability. In fact if 
a person considers carefully the careers of men whose 
ability to speak has impressed the world by its pre- 
eminence he will incline to the conclusion that the 
majority of them were not to any signal extent born 
speakers at all. In nearly all cases of great speakers 
who have left records of their own progress in this 
powerful art their testimony is that without the 
effort to improve, without the unceasing practice they 
would have always remained no more marked for 
this so-called gift than all others. 

Overcoming Drawbacks. According to the regu- 
larly repeated tradition the great Greek orator, De- 
mosthenes, overcame impediments that would have 
daunted any ordinary man. His voice was weak. 
He lisped, and his manner was awkward. With 
pebbles in his mouth he tried his lungs against the 
noise of the dashing waves. This strengthened his 



SPEECH 9 

voice and gave him presence of mind in case of tumult 
among his listeners. He declaimed as he ran uphill. 
Whether these traditions be true or not, their basis 
must be that it was only by rigorous training that 
he did become a tolerable speaker. The significant 
point, however, is that with apparent handicaps he 
did develop his ability until he became great. 

Charles James Fox began his parliamentary career 
by being decidedly awkward and filling his speeches 
with needless repetitions, yet he became renowned as one 
of Great Britain's most brilliant speakers and statesmen. 

Henry Clay clearly describes his own exercises in 
self -training when he was quite a grown man. 

" I owe my success in life to one single fact, namely, at the 
age of twenty-seven I commenced, and continued for years, 
the practice of daily reading and speaking upon the con- 
tents of some historical or scientific book. These offhand 
efforts were made sometimes in a corn field, at others in the 
forests, and not infrequently in some distant barn with the 
horse and ox for my auditors. It is to this early practice 
in the art of all arts that I am indebted to the primary and 
leading impulses that stimulated me forward, and shaped 
and molded my entire destiny." 

Abraham Lincoln never let pass any opportunity 
to try to make a speech. His early employers, when 
called upon after his fame was won to describe his 
habits as a young man, admitted that they might have 
been disposed to consider him an idle fellow. They 
explained that he was not only idle himself but the 
cause of idleness in others. Unless closely watched, 
he was likely to mount a stump and, to the intense 
I delight of his fellow farm hands, deliver a side-splitting 



10 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

imitation of some itinerant preacher or a stirring 
political harangue. 

The American whose reputation for speech is the 
greatest won it more through training than by natural 
gift. 

" I could not speak before the school,' ' said Daniel Webster. 
... " Many a piece did I commit to memory and rehearse 
in my room over and over again, but when the day came, 
and the schoolmaster called my name, and I saw all eyes 
turned upon my seat, I could not raise myself from it. . . « 
Mr. Buckminster always pressed and entreated, most win- 
ningly, that I would venture, but I could never command 
sufficient resolution. When the occasion was over I went 
home and wept bitter tears of mortification." 

Results of Training. The significance of all these 
illustrations is that no great speaker has come by his 
ability without careful and persistent training. No 
molder of the world's destinies springs fully equipped 
from the welter of promiscuous events. He has been 
training for a long time. On the other hand the much 
more practical lesson to be derived from these bi- 
ographical excerpts is that these men started from 
ordinary conditions to make themselves into forceful 
thinkers with powers of convincing expression. They 
overcame handicaps. They strengthened their voices. 
They learned how to prepare and arrange material. 
They made themselves able to explain topics to others. 
They knew so well the reasons for their own belief 
that they could convince others. 

In a smaller way, to a lesser degree, any person can 
do the same thing, and by the same or similar methods. 
Barring some people who have physical defects or 



SPEECH 11 

nervous diseases, any person who has enough brains 
to grasp an idea, to form an opinion, or to produce a 
thought, can be made to speak well. The preceding 
sentence says " barring some people who have physical 
defects " because not all so handicapped at the be- 
ginning need despair of learning to improve in speaking 
ability. By systems in which the results appear 
almost miraculous the dumb are now taught to speak. 
Stutterers and stammerers become excellent deliverers 
of speeches in public. Weak voices are strengthened. 
Hesitant expressions are made coherent. Such marvels 
of modern science belong, however, to special classes 
and institutions. They are cited here to prove that 
in language training today practically nothing is 
impossible to the teacher with knowledge and patience 
in educating students with alertness and persistence. 

Practical Help. This book attempts to provide a 
guide for such teachers and students. It aims to be 
eminently practical. It is intended to help students 
to improve in speech. It assumes that those who 
use it are able to speak their language with some 
facility — at least they can pronounce its usual words. 
That and the realization that one is alive, as indi- 
cated by a mental openness to ideas and an intellectual 
alertness about most things in the universe, are all 
that are absolutely required of a beginner who tries 
to improve in speaking. Practically all else can be 
added unto him. 

As this volume has a definite aim it has a simple 
practical basis. It will not soar too far above the 
essentials. It tries not to offer an elaborate explana- 
tion of an enthymeme when the embryonic speaker's 



12 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

knees are knocking together so loudly that he can 
not hear the instructor's correcting pronunciation 
of the name. It takes into account that when a 
beginner stands before an audience — and this is 
true not only the first time — even his body is not 
under his control. Lips grow cold and dry; per- 
spiration gushes from every pore of the brow and 
runs down the face; legs grow weak; eyes see nothing; 
hands swell to enormous proportions; violent pains 
shoot across the chest; the breath is confined within 
the lungs; from the clapper-like tongue comes only 
a faint click. Is it any wonder that under such physical 
agonies the mind refuses to respond — rather, is 
incapable of any action whatever? 

Speech Based on Thought and Language. Every 
speech is a result of the combination of thought and 
language, of material and expression. It would be 
quite possible to begin with considerations of the 
thought content of speeches — the material; but 
this book begins with the other; — the language, the 
expression. If this order have no other advantage, 
it does possess this one; — that during the informal 
discussions and expressions of opinon occasioned 
by the early chapters and exercises, members of the 
class are attaining a feeling of ease in speaking among 
themselves which will later eradicate a great deal of 
the nervousness usually experienced when speaking 
before the class. In addition, some attention to such 
topics as voice, tone, pronunciation, common errors, 
use of the dictionary, vocabulary, may instil habits 
of self-criticism and observation which may save 
from doubt and embarrassing mistakes later. 



SPEECH 13 



EXERCISES 

1. Recall some recent speech you heard. In parallel 
columns make lists of its excellences and deficiencies. 

2. Give the class an account of the occasion, the purpose 
of the speaker, and his effect upon his audience, or upon you. 

3. Explain how children learn to speak. 

4. From your observation give the class an account of 
| how young children enlarge their vocabularies. 

5. Using the material of this chapter as the basis of your 
i remarks, show the value of public speaking. 

6. Of what value is public speaking to women? 

7. What effects upon speeches by women will universal 
; suffrage have? 

8. Choose some profession — as law, engineering — and 
l show how an ability to speak may be of value in it. 

9. Choose some business position, and show how an 
5 ability to speak is a decided advantage in it. 

< 10. What is the best method of acquiring a foreign 
(language? For example, how shall the alien learn English? 
i 11. Choose some great man whom you admire. Show 

how he became a speaker. Or give an account of one of his 

^speeches. 

I 12. Show the value of public speaking to a girl — in 

school; in business; in other careers. 

13. Explain the operation of a dictaphone. 

14. How can training in public speaking help an applicant 
for a position? 

15. Explain the sentence quoted from Bacon's essay on 
1 studies. 



CHAPTER II 
THE VOICE 

Organs of Speech. Although the effects produced 
by the human voice are myriad in their complexity, 
the apparatus involved in making the sounds which 
constitute speech is extremely simple. In construc- 
tion it has been usually compared to an organ pipe, 
a comparison justifiable for imparting a non-technical 
understanding of its operation. 

An organ pipe is a tube in which a current of air 
passing over the edge of a piece of metal causes it to 
vibrate, thus putting into motion the column of air 
in the pipe which then produces a note. The operating 
air is forced across the sounding piece of metal from a 
bellows. The tube in which the thin sounding plate 
and the column of air vibrate acts as a resonator. The 
resulting sound depends upon various sizes of the 
producing parts. If the tube is quite long the sound 
is low in pitch. If the tube is short the sound is 
high. Stopping the end of the pipe or leaving it 
open alters the pitch. A stopped pipe gives a note 
an octave lower than an open pipe of the same 
length. The amount of the vibrating plate which 
is allowed to move also determines the pitch of 
a note. If the air is under great pressure the note 
is loud. If the air is under little pressure the note 
is soft. 

14 



THE VOICE 15 

It is quite easy to transfer this explanation to the 
voice-producing apparatus in the human body. 

To the bellows correspond the lungs from which the 
expelled air is forced upwards through the wind- 
pipe. The lungs are able to expel air regularly and 
gently, with no more expense of energy than ordinary 
breathing requires. But the lungs can also force 
air out with tremendous power — power enough 
to carry sound over hundreds of yards. In 
ordinary repose the outward moving breath pro- 
duces no sound whatever, for it meets in its passage 
no obstruction. 

Producing Tone. At the upper end of the wind- 
ipipe is a triangular chamber, the front angle of which 
(forms the Adam's apple. In this are the vocal cords. 
iThese cords are two tapes of membrane which can 
tbe brought closely together, and by muscular tension 
istretched until passing air causes them to vibrate. 
IThey in turn cause the air above them to vibrate, 
much as the air in an organ pipe vibrates. Thus 
tone is produced. 

I The air above the vocal cords may fill all the open 
spaces above the larynx — the throat, the mouth, the 
nasal cavity in the head, the nostrils. This rather 
large amount of air, vibrating freely, produces a sound 
low in pitch. The larger the cavities are made the 
lower the pitch. You can verify this by producing 
a note. Then place your finger upon your Adam's 
apple. Produce a sound lower in pitch. Notice what 
pour larynx does. Sing a few notes down the scale 
or up to observe the same principle of the change of 
Ditch in the human voice. 



16 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Producing Vowels. If the mouth be kept wide 
open and no other organ be allowed to modify or 
interrupt the sound a vowel is produced. In speech 
every part of the head that can be used is brought 
into action to modify these uninterrupted vibrations 
of vocal cords and air. The lips, the cheeks, the 
teeth, the tongue, the hard palate, the soft palate, 
the nasal cavity, all cooperate to make articulate 
speech. 

As in its mechanism, so in the essence of its modi- 
fications, the human voice is a marvel of simplicity. 
If the mouth be opened naturally and the tongue and 
lips be kept as much out of the way as in ordinary 
breathing, and then the vocal cords be made to vibrate, 
the resulting sound will be the vowel a as in father. 
If now, starting from that same position and with 
that same vowel sound, the tongue be gradually raised 
the sound will be modified. Try it. The sound will 
pass through other vowels. Near the middle position 
it will sound like a in fate; and when the tongue gets 
quite close to the roof of the mouth without touching 
it the vowel will be the e of feet. Others — such as 
the i of it — can be distinguished clearly. 

Starting again from that same open position and with 
that same vowel sound, ah, if the tongue be allowed 
to lie flat, but the lips be gradually closed and at the 
same time rounded, the sound will pass from ah to 
the o of hope, then on to the oo of troop. The oa of 
broad and other vowels can be distinguished at various 
positions. 

By moving lips and tongue at the same time an 
almost infinite variety of vowel sounds can be made. 



THE VOICE 17 

Producing Consonants. In order to produce con- 
sonant sounds the other parts of the speaking ap- 
paratus are brought into operation. Every one of 
them has some function in the formation of some 
consonant by interrupting or checking the breath. 
I A student, by observing or feeling the motions of his 
.mouth can easily instruct himself in the importance 
S of each part if he will carefully pronounce a few times 
all the various consonant sounds of the language. 

The lips produce the sounds of p, b, wh 9 and w. 
The lips and teeth produce the sounds of /, v. The 
I tongue and teeth together make the sounds of th and 
dh. The tongue in conjunction with the forward 
portion of the hard palate produces several sounds — 
t, d, s, z, r, and I. The tongue operating against or 
near the rear of the hard palate pronounces ch, j, sh, 
zh, and a different r. To make the consonant y the 
tongue, the hard palate, and the soft palate operate. 
The tongue and soft palate make k and g. A strong 
(breathing makes the sound of h. By including the 
i nasal passages in conjunction with some of the other 
parts here listed the so-called nasals, m, n, and ng, 
;are made. According to the organ involved our con- 
sonant sounds are conveniently grouped as labials 
(lips), dentals (teeth), Unguals (tongue), palatals 
(palate), and nasals (nose). 

The correct position and action of the vocal organs 
are of supreme importance to all speakers. Many 
an inveterate stammerer, stutterer, or repeater can 
be relieved, if not cured, of the embarrassing impedi- 
ment by attention to the position of his speech organs 
and by careful, persistent practice in their manipula- 



18 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

tion. In fact every speaker must be cognizant of 
the placement of these parts if he desires to have 
control over his speech. Frequently it is such correct 
placement rather than loud noise or force which carries 
expressions clearly to listeners. 

While it is true that singing will strengthen the 
lungs and help in control of breath, it is not always the 
fact — as might be expected — that singing will de- 
velop the speaking voice. Not every person who can 
sing has a pleasant or forceful voice in ordinary dis- 
course. In singing, to secure purity of musical tone, 
the vowels are likely to be disproportionately dwelt 
upon. Thus we have the endless la-la-la and ah-ah 
of so many vocal show-pieces. The same practice 
leads to the repeated criticism that it makes no dif- 
ference whether a song be in English or a foreign 
language — the listeners understand just as much in 
either case. 

In speaking effectively the aim and method are the 
exact opposite. When a man speaks he wants to be 
listened to for the meaning of what he is uttering. 
There are so many words in the language with the 
same or similar vowel sounds that only the sharpest 
discrimination by means of consonants permits of 
their being intelligible. The speaker, therefore, will 
exercise the greatest care in pronouncing consonants 
distinctly. As these sounds usually begin and end 
words, and as they are produced by rather sudden 
checks or interruptions, they can be made to produce 
a wave motion in the air which will carry the entire 
word safely and clearly beyond the ear into the under- 
standing. In public speaking no amount of care and 



THE VOICfe 19 

\l attention bestowed upon pronouncing consonants can 
jhe spared. 

Tone. The most marked quality of a person's 
voice is its tone. It will be enough for the purposes 
of this manual to assert that the tone should be both 
4 clear and agreeable. In public speaking the first of 
these is all important, though an absence of the second 
qualification may almost neutralize all the advantages 
of the first. Clearness may be impaired by several 
causes. The speaker may feel that his throat closes 
up, that he becomes choked. His tongue may be- 
come stiff and " cleave to the roof of his mouth " — 
| as the feeling is popularly described. He may breathe 
c so energetically that the escaping or entering air makes 
.more noise than the words themselves. He may be 
( more or less conscious of all these. The others he may 
jnot discover for himself. The instructor or members 
of the class will inform him of their presence. Set 
jjaws will prevent him from opening his mouth wide 
^enough and operating his lips flexibly enough to 
ispeak with a full tone. A nasal quality results mainly 
/from lack of free resonance in the head and nose 
^passages. Adenoids and colds in the head produce 
jthis condition. It should be eradicated by advice 
and practice. 

Usually whatever corrections will make the tone 
clearer will also make it more agreeable. The nasal 
pessimistic whine is not a pleasant recommendation 
of personality. High, forced, strident tones produce 
not only irritation in the listener but throat trouble 
for the speaker. 
Articulate — that is, connected — speech may be 



20 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

considered with reference to four elements, all of which 
are constantly present in any spoken discourse. 

Speed. First, there is the speed of delivery. An 
angry woman can utter more words in a minute than 
any one wants to hear. The general principle under- 
lying all speech delivery is that as the audience in- 
creases in number the rapidity of utterance should 
be lessened. Those who are accustomed to address- 
ing large audiences, or to speaking in the open air, 
speak very slowly. A second consideration is the 
material being delivered. Easily grasped narrative, 
description, and explanation, simply phrased and 
directly constructed, may be delivered much more 
rapidly than involved explanation, unfamiliar phrase- 
ology, long and intricate sentence constructions, un- 
usual material, abstract reasoning, and unwelcome 
sentiments. The beginnings of speeches move much 
more slowly than later parts. A speaker who intends 
to lead an audience a long distance, or to hold the 
attention for a long time, will be extremely careful 
not to speak at the beginning so rapidly that he leaves 
them far behind. 

This does not mean that a speaker must drawl his 
words. One of our national characteristics is that we 
shorten our words in pronouncing them — ing gen- 
erally loses the g, does not has become doesn't and 
quite incorrectly don't, yes is yeeh, etc. In many 
cases nothing more is required than the restoration of 
the word to its correct form. Some words can easily 
be lengthened because of the significance of their 
meanings. Others must be extended in order to 
carry. The best method of keeping down the rate of 1 



THE VOICE 21 

delivery is by a judicious use of pauses. Pauses are 
to the listener what punctuation marks are to the 
ireader. He is not conscious of their presence, but he 
would be left floundering if they were absent. Some 
of the most effective parts of speeches are the pauses. 
They impart clearness to ideas, as well as aiding in 
[emphasis and rhythm. 

Pitch. A second quality of speech is its pitch. 
This simply means its place in the musical scale. 
Speaking voices are high, medium, or low. Unfor- 
tunate tendencies of Americans seem to be for 
women to pitch their voices too high, with resultant 
strain and unpleasantness, and for men to pitch their 
voices too low, with resultant growls and gruff ness. 
The voices of young children should be carefully 
guarded in this respect; so should the changing voices 
of growing boys. To secure a good pitch for the 
speaking voice the normal natural pitch of usual con- 
versation should be found. Speech in that same 
pitch should be developed for larger audiences. Fre- 
quently a better pitch can be secured by slightly 
lowering the voice. If the natural pitch be too low 
lor clearness or agreeableness it should be slightly 
raised — never more than is absolutely necessary. 

No connected group of words should be delivered 
in a monotonously level pitch. The voice must rise 
and fall. These changes must answer intelligently 
'to the meaning of the material. Such variations are 
called inflections. The most disagreeable violations 
of required inflections are raising the voice where 
it should fall — as at the completion of an idea, and 
letting it drop where it should remain up — as before 



M PUBLIC SPEAKING 

the completion of an idea, frequently answering to a 
comma. Other variations of pitch depend upon 
emphasis. 

Emphasis. Emphasis is giving prominence to a 
word or phrase so that its importance is impressed 
upon a listener. This result is most easily secured 
by contrast. More force may be put into its delivery 
than the rest of the speech. The word may be made 
louder or not so loud. The voice may be pitched 
higher or lower. The word may be lengthened. 
Pauses will make it prominent. In speaking, combi- 
nations of these are employed to produce emphasis. 

While all qualities of speech are important, em- 
phasis is of cardinal value. Listeners will never 
recall everything that a speaker has said. By a 
skilful employment of emphasis he will put into their 
consciousness the main theme of his message, the 
salient arguments of his contention, the leading mo- 
tives of action. Here again is that close interde- 
pendence of manner and material referred to in the 
preceding chapter. In later chapters will be discussed 
various methods of determining and securing emphasis 
of larger sections than mere words and phrases. 

Phrasing. Somewhat related to emphasis is phras 
ing. This is the grouping together of words, phrases, 
clauses, and other units so that their meaning and 
significance may be easily grasped by a listener. As 
has been already said, pauses serve as punctuation 
marks for the hearer. Short pauses correspond to 
commas, longer ones to colons and semi-colons, marked 
ones to periods. Speakers can by pauses clearly 
indicate the conclusions of sections, the completion 



THE VOICE 23 

of topics, the passage from one part of the material 
to another, the transfer of attention from one subject 
to its opposite. Within smaller range pauses can add 
delightful variety to delivery as they can signally 
reinforce the interpretation. No speaker should fall 
into the habit of monotonously letting his pauses 
mark the limit of his breath capacity, nor should he 
take any regular phrase, clause, or sentence length to 
be indicated by pauses. In this as in all other aspects 
variety is the charm of speech. 

Enunciation. No matter what handicaps a person 
may have he may overcome them to secure a distinct, 
agreeable enunciation. Care in enunciating words 
will enable a speaker to be heard almost anywhere. 
It is recorded that John Fox, a famous preacher of 
South Place Chapel, London, whose voice was neither 
loud nor strong, was heard in every part of Covent 
Garden Theatre, seating 3500, when he made anti- 
[ corn-law orations, by the clearness with which he 
f pronounced the final consonants of the words he 
spoke. 

One of the orators best known to readers is Edmund 
iBurke, whose speeches are studied as models of argu- 
mentative arrangement and style. Yet in actual 
speech-making Burke was more or less a failure because 
of the unfortunate method of his delivery. Many 
! men markedly inferior in capacity to Burke overcame 
"disadvantageous accidents, but he was frequently 
hurried and impetuous. Though his tones were 
naturally sonorous, they were harsh; and he never 
divested his speech of a strong Irish accent. Then, 
too, his gestures were clumsy. These facts will ex- 



24 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

plain to us who read and study leisurely these master- 
pieces why they failed of their purpose when pre- 
sented by their gifted but ineffective author. 

Pronunciation. Enunciation depends to a great 
degree upon pronunciation. The pronunciation of 
a word is no fixed and unchangeable thing. Every 
district of a land may have its peculiar local sounds, 
every succeeding generation may vary the manner 
of accenting a word. English people today pro- 
nounce schedule with a soft ch sound. Program has 
had its accent shifted from the last to the first syllable. 
Many words have two regularly heard pronuncia- 
tions — neither, advertisement, Elizabethan, rations, 
oblique, route, quinine, etc. Fashions come and go 
in pronunciation as in all other human interests. Some 
sounds stamp themselves as carelessnesses or per- 
versions at once and are never admitted into educated, 
cultured speech. Others thrive and have their day, 
only to fade before some more widely accepted pro- 
nunciation. The first rule in pronunciation is to 
consult a good dictionary. This will help in most 
cases but not in all, for a dictionary merely records 
all accepted sounds; only partly can it point out the 
better of disputed sounds by placing it first. Secondly, 
speech is a living, growing, changing thing. Dic- 
tionaries drop behind the times surprisingly rapidly. 
The regularly accepted sound may have come into 
general use after the dictionary was printed. New 
activities, unusual phases of life may throw into gen- 
eral conversation thousands of unused, unheard words. 
This was true of the recent Great War, when with 
little or no preparation thousands of military, in 



THE VOICE 25 

dustrial, naval, and aeronautical terms came into 
daily use. Discussions still flutter mildly around 
cantonment and rations, and a score of others. 

Next to authoritative books, the best models are 
to be secured from the speech of authorities in each 
branch to which the term specifically belongs. Thus 
the military leaders have made the pronunciation of 
oblique with the long i the correct one for all military 
usages. The accepted sound of cantonments was 
fixed by the men who built and controlled them. As 
it is not always possible for the ordinary person to 
hear such authorities deliver such terms in discourse 
one can merely say that a familiarity with correct 
pronunciation can be secured only like liberty — at 
the price of eternal vigilance. 

Constant consultation of the dictionary and other 
books of recognized reference value, close observance 
of the speech of others, scrutiny of one's own pro- 
nunciation, mental criticism of others' slips, and 
determination to correct one's own errors, are the 
various methods of attaining certainty of correct 
delivery of word sounds. 

Poise. When a speaker stands before an audience 
to address its members he should be perfectly at ease. 
Physical ease will produce an effect upon the listeners. 
Mental ease because of mastery of the material will 
induce confidence in the delivery. Bodily eccen- 
tricities and awkwardness which detract from the 
speech itself should be eradicated by strenuous prac- 
tice. Pose and poise should first command respectful 
attention. The body should be erect, but not stiff. 
Most of the muscles should be relaxed. The feet 



26 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

should be naturally placed, not so far apart as to 
suggest straddling, not so close together as to suggest 
the military stand at " attention." 

What should be done with the hands? Nothing. 
They should not be clasped; they should not be put 
behind the back; they should not be jammed into 
pockets; the arms should not be held akimbo; they 
should not be folded. Merely let the arms and hands 
hang at the sides naturally. 

Gestures. Should a speaker make gestures? Cer- 
tainly never if the gesture detracts from the force of 
an expression, as when a preacher pounds the book 
so hard that the congregation cannot hear his words. 
Certainly yes, when the feeling of the speaker behind 
the phrase makes him enforce his meaning by a suitable 
movement. In speaking today fewer gestures are 
indulged in than years ago. There should never be 
many. Senseless, jerky, agitated pokings and twitch- 
ings should be eradicated completely. Insincere flour- 
ishes should be inhibited. Beginners should beware 
of gestures until they become such practised -masters 
of their minds and bodies that physical emphasis may 
be added to spoken force. 

A speaker should feel perfectly free to change his 
position or move his feet during his remarks. Usually 
such a change should be made to correspond with a 
pause in delivery. In this way it reinforces the in- 
dication of progress or change of topic, already cited 
in discussing pauses. 

Delivery. A speaker should never begin to talk 
the very instant he has taken his place before his 
audience. He should make a slight pause to collect 



THE VOICE 27 

the attention before he utters his salutation (to be 
considered later) and should make another short 
pause between it and the opening sentences of his 
speech proper. After he has spoken the last word 
he should not fling away from his station to his seat. 
This always spoils the effect of an entire address by 
ruining the impression that the last phrase might 
have made. 

As for the speech itself, there are five ways of de- 
livering it: 

1. To write it out in full and read it. 

2. To write it out in full and commit it to memory. 

3. To write out and memorize the opening and 

closing sentences and other especially im- 
portant parts, leaving the rest for extempore 
delivery. 

4. To use an outline or a brief which suggests 

the headings in logical order. 

5. To speak without manuscript or notes. 
Reading the Speech. The first of these methods — ■ 

to read the speech from a prepared manuscript — 
really changes the speech to a lecture or reading. 
True, it prevents the author from saying anything 
he would not say in careful consideration of his topic. 
It assures him of getting in all he wants to say. It 
gives the impression that all his utterances are the 
result of calm, collected thinking. On the other hand, 
so few people can read from a manuscript convincingly 
that the reproduction is likely to be a dull, lifeless 
proceeding in which almost anything might be said, 
so little does the material impress the audience. This 
method can hardly be considered speech-making at all. 



28 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Memorizing the Speech. The second method — 
of repeating memorized compositions — is better. It 
at least seems alive. It has an appearance of direct 
address. It possesses the other advantages of the 
first method — definite reasoning and careful con- 
struction. But its dangers are grave. Few people 
can recite memorized passages with the personal 
appeal and direct significance that effective spoken 
discourse should have. Emphasis is lacking. Variety 
is absent. The tone becomes monotonous. The speech 
is so well committed that it flows too easily. If several 
speakers follow various methods, almost any listener 
can unerringly pick the memorized efforts. Let the 
speaker in delivery strive for variety, pauses, em- 
phasis; let him be actor enough to simulate the feeling 
of spontaneous composition as he talks, yet no matter 
how successful he may be in his attempts there will 
still be slight inconsistencies, trifling incongruities, 
which will disturb a listener even if he cannot describe 
his mental reaction. The secret lies in the fact that 
written and spoken composition differ in certain 
details which are present in each form in spite of the 
utmost care to weed them out. 

Memorizing Parts. The third manner can be 
made effective if the speaker can make the gap just 
described between written and spoken discourse ex- 
tremely narrow. If not, his speech will appear just 
what it is — an incongruous patchwork of carefully 
prepared, reconsidered writing, and more or less 
spontaneously evolved speaking. 

Speaking from Outline or Brief. The fourth method 
is by far the best for students training themselves to 



THE VOICE 29 

become public speakers. After a time the brief or 
outline can be retained in the mind, and the speaker 
passes from this method to the next. A brief for an 
important law case in the United States Supreme 
Court is a long and elaborate instrument. But 
a student speaker's brief or outline need not be 
long. 

Directions, models, and exercises for constructing 
and using outlines will be given in a later chapter. 

The Best Method. The last method is unques- 
tionably the best. Let a man so command all the 
aspects of a subject that he fears no breakdown in 
his thoughts, let him be able to use language so that 
he need never hesitate for the best expression, let him 
know the effect he wants to make upon his audience, 
the time he has to do it in, and he will know by what 
approaches he can best reach his important theme, 
what he may safely omit, what he must include, what 
he may hurry over, what he must slowly unfold, what 
he may handle lightly, what he must treat seriously; 
in short, he will make a great speech. This manner 
is the ideal towards which all students, all speakers, 
should strive. 

Attributes of the Speaker. Attributes of the speaker 
himself will aid or mar his speech. Among those which 
help are sincerity, earnestness, simplicity, fairness, 
self-control, sense of humor, sympathy. All great 
speakers have possessed these traits. Reports upon 
significant speakers describing their manner emphasize 
them. John Bright, the famous English parliamen- 
tarian of the middle of the last century, is described as 
follows: 



So PUBLIC SPEAKING 

His style of speaking was exactly what a conventional 
demagogue's ought not to be. It was pure to austerity; it 
was stripped of all superfluous ornament. It never gushed 
or foamed. It never allowed itself to be mastered by passion. 
The first peculiarity that struck the listener was its superb 
self-restraint. The orator at his most powerful passages 
appeared as if he were rather keeping in his strength than 
taxing it with effort. JusTm McCarthy: History of Our Own Time 

In American history the greatest speeches were made 
by Abraham Lincoln. In Cooper Union, New York, 
he made in 1860 the most powerful speech against the 
slave power. The New York Tribune the next day 
printed this description of his manner. 

Mr. Lincoln is one of nature's orators, using his rare 
powers solely to elucidate and convince, though their in- 
evitable effect is to delight and electrify as well. We present 
herewith a very full and accurate report of this speech; yet 
the tones, the gestures, the kindling eye, and the mirth- 
provoking look defy the reporter's skill. The vast as- 
semblage frequently rang with cheers and shouts of applause, 
which were prolonged and intensified at the close. No man 
ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a 
New York audience. 

Shakespeare's Advice. Some of the best advice for 
speakers was written by Shakespeare as long ago as 
just after 1600, and although it was intended pri- 
marily for actors, its precepts are just as applicable 
to almost any kind of delivered discourse. Every 
sentence of it is full of significance for a student of 
speaking. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is airing his 
opinions about the proper manner of speaking upon 
the stage. 



THE VOICE 31 

HAMLET'S SPEECH 

Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, 
trippingly on the tongue; but if you mouth it, as many of 
your players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. 
Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus, but 
use all gently; for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may 
say, whirlwind of your passion, you must acquire and beget 
a temperance that may give it smoothness. Oh, it offends me 
to the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a 
passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the 
groundlings, who for the most part are capable of nothing but 
inexplicable dumb-shows and noise. I would have such a 
fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant. It out-herods 
Herod. Pray you, avoid it. ^ - _. r ^^ 

Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be 
your tutor. Suit the action to the word, the word to the 
action; with this special observance, that you o'erstep not 
the modesty of nature. For anything so overdone is from 
the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, 
was and is, to hold, as 't were, the mirror up to nature; to 
show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the 
very age and body of the time his form and pressure. Now 
this overdone, or come tardy off, though it make the un- 
skilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve; the 
censure of the which one must in your allowance o'erweigh 
a whole theater of others. Oh, there be players that I have 
seen play, and heard others praise, and that highly, not to 
speak it profanely, that, neither having the accent of Chris- 
tians nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so 
strutted and bellowed that I have thought some of nature's 
journeymen had made men and not made them well, they 
imitated humanity so abominably. 

Oh, reform it altogether. And let those that play your 
clowns speak no more than is set down for them; for there 



32 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

be of them that will themselves laugh, to set on some quantity 
of barren spectators to laugh too, though in the meantime 
some necessary question of the play be then to be con- 
sidered. That's villainous, and shows a most pitiful ambition 
in the fool that uses it. Go make you ready. 

EXERCISES 

1. 'Neath our feet broke the brittle bright stubble like 
chaff. 

2. The first sip of love is pleasant; the second, perilous; 
the third, pestilent. 

3. Our ardors are ordered by our enthusiasms. 

4. She's positively sick of seeing her soiled, silk, Sunday 
dress. 

5. The rough cough and hiccough plowed me through. 

6. She stood at the gate welcoming him in. 

7. Five miles meandering with a mazy motion. 

8. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers : if Peter 
Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where is the peck of 
pickled peppers that Peter Piper picked? 

9. Theophilus Thistle, the thistle-sifter, sifted a sieve of 
unsifted thistles. If Theophilus Thistle, the thistle-sifter, 
sifted a sieve of unsifted thistles, where is the sieve of unsifted 
thistles that Theophilus Thistle, the thistle-sifter, sifted? 

10. Alone, alone, all, all alone, 

Alone on a wide, wide sea! 

11. The splendor falls on castle walls, 

And snowy summits old in story. 

12. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow 
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day 
To the last syllable of recorded time. 

13. The moan of doves in immemorial elms, 
And murmurings of innumerable bees 



THE VOICE 33 

14. The Ladies' Aid ladies were talking about a con- 
versation they had overheard, before the meeting, between 
a man and his wife. 

"They must have been at the Zoo," said Mrs. A.; 
" because I heard her mention * a trained deer.' ' 

" Goodness me! " laughed Mrs. B. " What queer 
hearing you must have! They were talking about going 
away, and she said, * Find out about the train, dear.' " 

" Well, did anybody ever! " exclaimed Mrs. C. 

" I am sure they were talking about musicians, for she 

said, * a trained ear,' as distinctly as could be." 

The discussion began to warm up, and in the midst of it 

the lady herself appeared. They carried the case to her 

promptly, and asked for a settlement. 

" Well, well, you do beat all! " she exclaimed, after 
hearing each one. " I'd been out in the country overnight 
and was asking my husband if it rained here last night." 

15. Learning condemns beyond the reach of hope 
The careless lips that speak of soap for soap; 
Her edict exiles from her fair abode 

The clownish voice that utters road for road; 
Less stern to him who calls his coat a coat, 
And steers his boat believing it a boat. 
She pardoned one, our classic city's boast, 
Who said at Cambridge, most instead of most, 
But knit her brows and stamped her angry foot 
To hear a Teacher call a root a root. 

16. Hear the tolling of the bells — 

Iron bells! 
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels! 

In the silence of the night, 

How we shiver with affright 
At the melancholy menace of their tone! 



34 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

For every sound that floats 
From the rust within their throats 

Is a groan. 
And the people — ah, the people — 
They that dwell up in the steeple, 
All alone, 
And who, tolling, tolling, tolling, 

In that muffled monotone, 
Feel a glory in so rolling 

On the human heart a stone — 
They are neither man nor woman — 
They are neither brute nor human — 
They are Ghouls: 
And their king it is who tolls; 
And he rolls, rolls, rolls, 
Rolls 
A Paean from the bells! 
And his merry bosom swells 
With the paean of the bells! 
And he dances, and he yells; 
Keeping time, time, time, 
In a sort of Runic rhyme, 
To the paean of the bells — 
Of the bells. 

17. Collecting, projecting, 

Receding and speeding, 
And shocking and rocking, 
And darting and parting. 
And threading and spreading, 
And whizzing and hissing, 
And dripping and skipping, 
And hitting and splitting, 
And shining and twining, 
And rattling and battling, 



THE VOICE 35 



And shaking and quaking, 
And pouring and roaring, 
And waving and raving, 
And tossing and crossing, 
And flowing and going, 
And running and stunning, 
And foaming and roaming, 
And dinning and spinning, 
And dropping and hopping, 
And working and jerking, 
And guggling and struggling, 
And heaving and cleaving, 
And moaning and groaning; 

And glittering and frittering, 
And gathering and feathering, 
And whitening and brightening, 
And quivering and shivering, 
And hurrying and skurrying, 
And thundering and floundering; 

Dividing and gliding and sliding, 
And falling and brawling and sprawling, 
And driving and riving and striving, 
And sprinkling and twinkling and wrinkling, 
And sounding and bounding and rounding, 
And bubbling and troubling and doubling, 
And grumbling and rumbling and tumbling, 
And clattering and battering and shattering; 

Retreating and beating and meeting and sheeting, 
Delaying and straying and playing and spraying, 
Advancing and prancing and glancing and dancing, 
Recoiling, turmoiling and toiling and boiling, 
And gleaming and streaming and steaming and 
beaming, 



36 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






And rushing and flushing and brushing and gushing, 
And flapping and rapping and clapping and slapping, 
And curling and whirling and purling and twirling, 
And thumping and plumping and bumping and 

jumping, 
And dashing and flashing and splashing and clashing; 
And so never ending, but always descending, 
Sounds and motions for ever and ever are blending, 
All at once and all o'er, with a mighty uproar; 
And this way the water comes down at Lodore. 

18. Sister Susie's sewing shirts for soldiers, 
Such skill at sewing shirts our shy young 
Sister Susie shows. 
Some soldiers send epistles 
Say they'd rather sleep in thistles 
Than the saucy, soft, short shirts for soldiers 
Sister Susie sews. 



CHAPTER III 
WORDS AND SENTENCES 

Vocabularies. The collection of words a person 
can command either in use or understanding is a 
vocabulary. Every person has three distinct ones: 
his reading vocabulary, his writing vocabulary, his 
speaking vocabulary. Of these, the reading vocabu- 
lary is the largest. There are thousands of words he 
recognizes in reading and although he might not be 
able to construct a dictionary definition for every 
one, he has a sufficiently clear idea to grasp the mean- 
ing. In this rude approximation to sense he is aided 
by the context, but for all practical purposes he under- 
stands the word. If he were writing, carefully taking 
time to note exactly what he was expressing, he might 
recall that word and so consciously put it into a sen- 
tence. He might use it in exactly the same sense in 
which he had seen it in print. But never in the rush 
of ideas and words in spoken discourse would he risk 
using a word he knew so slightly. If nothing more, 
he would beware of mispronunciation. 

Thus a person could easily deduce from his reading 
that a hangar is a building to house airplanes. He 
might — to avoid repeating the word shed too fre- 
quently — use it in writing. But until he was abso- 
lutely certain of its significance and its sound he would 
hardly venture to say it to other men. 

37 



38 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Spoken discourse is so alive, it moves so rapidly, 
that it is never so precise, so varied in its choice of 
words, as written material. The phraseology of 
written discourse sounds slightly or markedly stilted, 
bookish, if repeated by the tongue. This difference — 
though it may appear almost trifling — is apparent 
to every one. Its recognition can be partly illustrated 
by the fact that after President Lowell and Senator 
Lodge had debated on the topic, the League of Nations, 
in Boston and were shown the reports of their speeches, 
each made changes in certain expressions. The version 
for print and reading is a little more formal than the 
delivered sentences. The Senator said, " I want " 
but preferred to write " I wish " ; then he changed 
" has got to be " into " must," and " nothing to see " 
into " nothing visible." 

One might say that all three vocabularies should 
correspond, but there is no real need of this. So long 
as people read they will meet thousands of words for 
which they have no need in speaking. Everybody must 
be able to understand the masterpieces of the past with 
their archaic (old-fashioned) words like eftsoons or hal- 
idom, but no one need use such expressions now. So 
there is no discredit in the fact that one's speaking vocab- 
ulary is more restricted than his reading vocabulary. 

New Ideas, New Words. It is true, however, that 
an educated person should never rest content with 
the size of his usable speaking vocabulary. The 
addition of every new word is likely to indicate the 
grasp of a new idea. Likewise, every new idea is 
almost certain to require its individual terms for ex- 
pression. An enlarging vocabulary is the outward 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 39 

and visible sign of an inward and intellectual growth. 
No man's vocabulary can equal the size of a dictionary, 
the latest of which in English is estimated to cpntain 
some 450 000 words. Life may be maintained upon a 
surprisingly meager group of words, as travelers in 
foreign lands can testify. Shakespeare's vocabulary 
xs said to have included as many as 15,000 words. 
Figures for that of the average person vary considerably. 
Increasing the Vocabulary. The method of increas- 
ing a vocabulary is a quite simple process. Its pro- 
cedure is a fascinating exercise. It covers four steps. 
When a new word is encountered it should be noticed 
with keen attention. If heard, its pronunciation will 
be fixed upon the ear. If seen, its spelling should 
be mastered at once. The next step is to consult a 
dictionary for either spelling or pronunciation. Then 
all its meanings should be examined. Still the word 
is not yours until you have used it exactly. This you 
should do at the first opportunity. If the oppor- 
tunity seems long in coming make it for yourself by 
discussing with some one the topic with which it was 
used or frankly discuss the word itself. How many 
unfamiliar words have you heard or seen recently? 
How many do you easily use now in your own remarks? 
You might find it a good plan to take a linguistic 
inventory every night. A little practice in this will 
produce amazingly interesting and profitable results 
in both use and understanding. A keenness for 
words will be rapidly developed. Word-lists of all 
kinds will take on entirely new meanings. A spontane- 
ous receptivity will develop into permanent retention 
of words and phrases. 



40 



PUBLIC SPEAKING 



EXERCISES 






1. Tell of some new word you have added to your vo- 
cabulary recently. Explain when you met it, how it hap- 
pened to impress you, what you learned of it. 

2. In studying a foreign language how did you fix in your 
mind the words which permanently stuck there? 

3. Look over a page in a dictionary. Report to the class 
on some interesting material you find. 

4. Make a list of ten slang or technical expressions. Ex- 
plain them in exact, clear language. 

5. Find and bring to class a short printed passage, which 
because of the words, you cannot understand. Unusual 
books, women's fashion magazines, technical journals, books 
of rules for games, financial reports, contain good examples. 

6. How much do you know about any of the following 
words? 

orthodox 

plebescite 

purloin 

querulous 

renegade 



chassis 


fuselage 


comptometer 


germicide 


covenant 


layman 


ethiopian 


morale 


farce 


nectar 



sable 

self-determination 

soviet 

vers libre 

zoom 



7. Comment on the words in the following extracts : 

" Of enchanting crimson brocade is the slipover blousq 
which follows the lines of the French cuirasse. Charm- 
ingly simple, this blouse, quite devoid of trimming, 
achieves smartness by concealing the waistline with five 
graceful folds." 

" The shift bid consists in bidding a suit, of which 
you have little or nothing, with the ultimate object of 
transferring later to another declaration, which is perfectly 
sound. The idea is to keep your adversaries from lead- 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 41 

ing this suit up to your hand, which they will likely avoid 
doing, thinking that you are strong in it." 

" While sentiment is radically bearish on corn there is 
so little pressure on the market other than from shorts that 
a majority of traders are inclined to go slow in pressing 
the selling side on breaks until the situation becomes more 
clearly defined. The weekly forecast for cool weather is 
regarded as favorable for husking and shelling, and while 
there was evening up on the part of the pit operators for the 
double holiday, some of the larger local professionals went 
home short expecting a lower opening Tuesday." 
8. Make a list of ten new words you have learned recently. 

Suffixes and Prefixes. Definite steps for continu- 
ous additions can be mapped out and covered. Care- 
ful attention to prefixes and suffixes will enlarge the 
vocabulary. 

PREFIXES 

1 1. a = on, in, at, to; abed, aboard, afield, afire 

£. ab (a, abs) = from, away; absent, abstract, abdicate 

3. ad, etc. = to, in addition to; adapt, admit, adduce 

4. ante = before, anteroom, antebellum 

> 5. anti= against, opposite; anticlimax, antipodes, antipathy 

6. bi = two; bicycle, biennial, biped, biplane 

7. circum = around, about; circumnavigate, circumscribe, 

circumvent 

8. con (col, com, co, cor, etc.) = with, together; consent, 

collect, coordinate, composite, conspiracy 

9. contra (counter) = against; contradict, counteract, counter- 

mand 
10. de = down, from, away; depose, desist, decapitate, 
denatured 






42 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

11. demi, hemi, semi = half; demi-tasse, hemisphere, semi- 

annual, semitransparent 

12. di (dis) = twice, double; dissyllable 

13. dis (di, dif) = apart, away, not; distract, diverge, di- 

version, disparage 

14. en (em) = in, on, into; engrave, embody, embrace 

15. extra = beyond; extraordinary, extravagant 

16. hyper = above; hypercritical 

17. in (il, im, ir) = in, into, not; inclose, illustrate, irrigate, 

inform, illiterate, impious, irregular 

18. ex (e, ec, ef) = out of, from, beyond, thoroughly, form- 

erly but not now; exclude, excel, ex-senator. 

19. inter = between, among; intercede, interchange, interfere, 

interurban, interlude 

20. mis = wrongly, badly; miscalculate, misspell, misad 

venture 

21. mono = one; monoplane 

22. per= through, thoroughly, by; perchance, perfect, per- 

adventure 

23. poly = many; polygon, polytheism 

24. post = behind, after; postgraduate, post-mortem, postlude, 

postscript, post-meridian (p.m.) 

25. pre = before (in time, place, or order) ; preeminent, pre- 

dict, prefer, prefix, prejudge, prejudice 

26. preter = beyond; preternatural 

27. pro = before, forth, forward; proceed, prosecute 

28. pro = siding with; pro-ally 

29. re = back, again; recover, renew, recall 

30. sub, etc. = under; submerge, subscribe, subterranean, 

subterfuge 

31. super (sur) = over, above; superintend, supercargo 

32. trans (tra) = across; translate, transmit, transfer 

33. vice (vis) = instead of; vice-president, vice-admiral 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 43 

SUFFIXES 

1. ee, er= one who; absentee, profiteer, mower 

2. ard, art = term of disparagement; drunkard, braggart 

3. esque = like; statuesque 

4. ism = state of being; barbarism, atheism 

5. et, let = little; brooklet, bracelet, eaglet 

6. ling = little, young; duckling, gosling 

7. kin = little; lambkin, Peterkin 

8. stead = a place; bedstead, homestead, instead 

9. wright = a workman; wheelwright 

Thesaurus. Besides frequently consulting a good 
modern dictionary a student speaker should familiarize 
himself with a Thesaurus of words and phrases. This 
is a peculiarly useful compilation of expressions ac- 
cording to their meaning relations. A dictionary lists 
words, then gives their meanings. A Thesaurus ar- 
ranges meanings, then gives the words that express 
those ideas. The value of such a book can be best 
illustrated by explaining its use. 

Suppose a speaker is going to attack some principle, 
some act, some party. He knows that his main 
theme will be denunciation of something. In the 
index of a Thesaurus he looks under denunciation, 
finding two numbers of paragraphs. Turning to 
the first he has under his eye a group of words all 
expressing shades of this idea. There are further 
references to other related terms. Let us look at the 
first group, taken from Roget's Thesaurus. 

Maledicton, curse, imprecation, denunciation, ex- 
ecration, anathema, ban, proscription, excommunica- 
tion, commination, fulmination. 



44 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Cursing, scolding, railing, Billingsgate language. 

V. To curse, accurse, imprecate, scold, rail, execrate. 

To denounce, proscribe, excommunicate, fulminate. 

Adj. Cursing, &c, cursed, &c. 

Threat, menace, defiance, abuse, commination, in- 
timidation. 

V. To threaten, menace, defy, fulminate; to in- 
timidate. 

Adj. Threatening, menacing, minatory, abusive. 

The second reference leads us farther. It presents 
the expressions dealing with the methods and results 
of denunciation, providing hundreds of words and 
phrases to use in various ways. It does even more, 
for in a parallel column it gives a list of opposites for 
the words indicating condemnation. This more than 
doubles its value. Finally having reached the word 
punishment it lists its cognates until the idea penalty 
is reached, where it balances that idea with reward 
and its synonyms. A portion of this section follows. 

Lawsuit, suit, action, cause, trial, litigation. 

Denunciation, citation, arraignment, persecution, 
indictment, impeachment, apprehension, arrest, com- 
mittal, imprisonment. 

Pleadings, writ, summons, plea, bill, affidavit, &c. 

Verdict, sentence, judgment, finding, decree, ar- 
bitrament, adjudication, award. 

V. To go to law; to take the law of; to appeal to 
the law; to join issue; file a bill, file a claim. 

To denounce, cite, apprehend, arraign, sue, prosecute, 
bring to trial, indict, attach, distrain, to commit, give 
in charge or custody; throw into prison. 

To try, hear a cause, sit in judgment. 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 45 

To pronounce, find, judge, sentence, give judgment; 
bring in a verdict; doom, to arbitrate, adjudicate, 
award, report. 



Acquittal, absolution, 
see Pardon, 918, clearance, 
discharge, release, reprieve, 
respite. 

Exemption from punish- 
ment; impunity. 

V. To acquit, absolve, 
clear, discharge, release, 
reprieve, respite. 

Adj. Acquitted, &c. 

Uncondemned, unpun- 
ished, unchastised. 



Condemnation, con- 
viction, proscription; 
death warrant. 

Attainder, attainment. 

V. To condemn, con- 
vict, cast, find guilty, pro- 
scribe. 

Adj. Condemnatory, 
&c. 

Punishment, chastise- 
ment, castigation, correc- 
tion, chastening, disci- 
pline, infliction, etc. 



An observer will see at once just how far these lists 
go and what must supplement them. They do not 
define, they do not discriminate, they do not restrict. 
They are miscellaneous collections. A person must 
consult the dictionary or refer to some other authority 
to prevent error or embarrassment in use. For in- 
stance, under the entry newspaper occurs the attractive 
word ephemeris. But one should be careful of how 
and where he uses that word. 

Another exercise which will aid in fixing both words 
and meanings in the mind and also help in the power 
of recalling them for instant use is to make some 
kind of word-list according to some principle or scheme. 
One plan might be to collect all the words dealing with 
the idea of book. Another might be to take some 



46 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






obvious word root and then follow it and other roots 
added to it through all its forms, meanings, and uses. 
One might choose tel (distant) and graph (record) 
and start with telegraph. Telephone will introduce 
phone, phonograph; they will lead on to dictaphone, 
dictagraph; the first half links with dictation; that 
may lead as far away as dictatorial. In fact there is 
no limit to the extent, the interest, and the value of 
these various exercises. The single aim of all of 
them should be, of course, the enlargement of the 
speaking vocabulary. Mere curiosities, current slang, 
far-fetched metaphors, passing foreign phrases, archa- 
isms, obsolete and obsolescent terms, too new coinages, 
atrocities, should be avoided as a plague. 

Consistent, persistent, insistent word-study is of 
inestimable value to a speaker. And since all people 
speak, it follows that it would benefit everybody. 

EXERCISES 

1. Explain what is meant by each entry in the foregoing list. 

2. List some verbal curiosities you have met recently. 
Examples: " Mr. Have-it-your-own-way is the best hus- 
band." " He shows a great deal of stick- to-it-iveness." 

3. What should be the only condition for using foreign 
expressions? Can you show how foreign words become 
naturalized? Cite some foreign words used in speech. 

4. Are archaic (old-fashioned), obsolete (discarded), and 
obsolescent (rapidly disappearing) terms more common in 
speech or books? Explain and illustrate. 

Synonyms. As has already been suggested, a 
copious vocabulary must not be idle in a person's 
equipment. He must be able to use it. He must be 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 47 

able to discriminate as to meaning. This power of 
choosing the exact word results from a study of syn- 
onyms. It is a fact that no two words mean exactly 
the same thing. No matter how nearly alike the two 
meanings may appear to be, closer consideration will 
unfailingly show at least a slight difference of dignity, 
if nothing more — as red and crimson, pure and un- 
spotted. Synonyms, then, are groups of words whose 
meanings are almost the same. These are the words 
which give so much trouble to learners of our language. 
A foreigner is told that stupid means dull, yet he 
is corrected if he says a stupid knife. Many who 
learn English as a native tongue fail to comprehend 
the many delicate shades of differences among 
synonyms. 

In this matter, also, a dictionary goes so far as to 
list synonyms, and in some cases, actually adds a 
discussion to define the various limits. For fuller, 
more careful discrimination a good book of synonyms 
should be consulted. Except for some general con- 
sideration of words which every one is certain to use 
or misuse, it is better to consult a treatise on synonyms 
when need arises than to study it consecutively. In 
consultation the material will be fixed by instant use. 
In study it may fade before being employed; it may 
never be required. 

The subjoined paragraphs show entries in two 
different volumes upon synonyms : 

Adjacent, adjoining, contiguous. Adjacent, in Latin, 
adjiciens, participle of adjicio, is compounded of ad and 
jacio, to lie near. Adjoining, as the word implies, signifies 
being joined together. Contiguous, in French contigu. 



48 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






Latin contiguus, comes from contingo, or con and tango, 
signifying to touch close. 

What is adjacent may be separated altogether by the in- 
tervention of some third object; what is adjoining must 
touch in some part; and what is contiguous must be fitted 
to touch entirely on one side. Lands are adjacent to a 
house or town; fields are adjoining to each other; and 
houses contiguous to each other. 

Crabbe: English Synonyms 

Victory: Synonyms: achievement, advantage, conquest, 
mastery, success, supremacy, triumph. Victory is the 
state resulting from the overcoming of an opponent or op- 
ponents in any contest, or from the overcoming of diffi- 
culties, obstacles, evils, etc., considered as opponents or 
enemies. In the latter sense any hard- won achievement, 
advantage, or success may be termed a victory. In con- 
quest and mastery there is implied a permanence of state 
that is not implied in victory. Triumph, originally denoting 
the public rejoicing in honor of a victory, has come to signify 
also a peculiarly exultant, complete, and glorious victory. 
Compare conquer. Antonyms: defeat, destruction, disap- 
pointment, disaster, failure, frustration, miscarriage, over- 
throw, retreat, rout. 

Fernald: English Synonyms, Antonyms and Prepositions 

Antonyms. Notice that this second paragraph adds 
a new word-list — antonyms. To reinforce the under- 
standing of what a thing is, it is desirable to know 
what it is not, or what its opposite is. This kind of 
explanation or description is especially valuable to 
a speaker. He can frequently impress an audience 
more definitely by explaining the opposite of what he 
wants them to apprehend. At times the term is not 
the extreme opposite; it is merely the negative of the 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 49 

other. Logically the other side of white is not white, 
while the antonym is the extreme black. Trained 
speakers use with great effect the principle under- 
lying such groups of words. When Burke argued 
before the House of Commons for a plan to secure 
harmony with the American colonies he described 
the scheme he considered necessary by showing what 
it should not be. " No partial, narrow, contracted, 
pinched, occasional system will be at all suitable to 
such an object." Describing the peace he hoped would 
be secured he used this principle of opposites. " Not 
peace through the medium of war; not peace to be 
hunted through the labyrinth of intricate and end- 
less negotiations, not peace to arise out of universal 
discord, fomented from principle in all parts of 
the empire; not peace to depend on the juridical 
determination of perplexing questions, or the precise 
marking the shadowy boundaries of a complex gov- 
ernment." 

We are told by an investigator that one of the 
reasons for a Frenchman's keen insight into the capa- 
bilities of his language is the early training received 
in schools covering differences among words. This 
continual weighing of the meaning or the suitability 
of an expression is bound to result in a delicate ap- 
preciation of its value as a means of effective com- 
munication. In all mental action the sense of con- 
trast is an especially lively one. In a later chapter 
this principle, as applied to explanation and argument, 
will be discussed. Just here, the point is that the 
constant study of contrasts will sharpen the language 
sense and rapidly enlarge the vocabulary. 



50 PUBLIC SPEAKING 



EXERCISES 



1. Put down a group of five words having similar mean- 
ings. Explain the differences among them. 

2. Choose any word. Give its exact opposite. 

3. From any short paragraph copy all the nouns. In a 
parallel column put opposites or contrasts. 

4. Do the same for the adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. 

5. Write down all the common nouns which correspond 
to a man, a girl, a leader, a house, a costume, a crime. 

Composition of the English Language. Turning 
now from the means of improving the speaker's language 
equipment let us pass to some remarks upon his use 
of words. The English language is the largest, the 
most varied in the universe. Almost entirely free 
from difficulties of inflection and conjugation, with a 
simplified grammar, and a great freedom of con- 
struction, it suffers from only two signal drawbacks — 
its spelling and its pronunciation. While it has pre- 
served to a great degree its original Anglo-Saxon 
grammar, it has enriched its vocabulary by borrowings 
from everywhere. Its words have no distinctive 
forms, so every foreign word can usually be naturalized 
by a mere change of sound. No matter what their 
origin, all belong to one family now; gnu is as much 
English as knew, japan as pogrom, fete as papoose? 
batik as radii, ohm as marconigram, macadamized as 
zoomed. Most of the modern borrowings — as just 
illustrated — were to serve for new things or ideas. 
But there was one time when a great reduplication 
of the vocabulary occurred. After the French con- 
quered England in 1066, English and Norman-French. 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 51 

were spoken side by side. The resultant tongue, 
composed of both, offered many doubles for the same 
idea. In some instances the fashionable and aris- 
tocratic French word marked a difference of meaning 
as is clearly indicated by such pairs as beef and ox, 
veal and calf, mutton and sheep, pork and pig. In 
many other cases words of French and English origin 
are separated by differences less distinct. Such are 
love and affection, worship and adoration. A speaker 
must take thought of such groups, and consciously 
endeavor to use the more appropriate for his 
purpose. 

Anglo-Saxon and Romance. It may help him 
to remember that the Anglo-Saxon words are the more 
homely, the closer to our everyday feelings and ex- 
periences, the expression of our deepest ideas and 
sentiments, the natural outspoken response to keen 
emotion. On the other hand, the Romance words — 
as they are called, whether from the French or directly 
from the Latin — are likely to be longer; they belong 
generally to the more complicated relationships of 
society and government; they are more intellectual 
in the sense that they represent the operations of 
the brain rather than the impulses of the heart. They 
deal with more highly trained wills, with more ab- 
struse problems; they reason, they argue, they con- 
sider; they are philosophical, scientific, legal, his- 
torical. Listen to a soldier relate his war experiences. 
What will his vocabulary be? Listen to a diplomat 
explaining the League of Nations. What will his 
vocabulary be? Have you ever heard a speaker 
who gave you the impression that all his words ended 



52 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

in Hon? This was because his vocabulary was largely 
Romance. 

The inferences from the foregoing are perfectly 
plain. Subject and audience will determine to a large 
extent what kinds of words a speaker will choose. 
The well-equipped speaker will be master of both 
kinds; he will draw from either as occasion offers. 
He will not insult one audience by talking below their 
intelligence, nor will he bore another by speaking 
over their heads. 

General and Specific Terms. Effective speaking 
depends to a large extent upon the inclusion of specific 
terms as contrasted with general terms. " Glittering 
generalities " never make people listen. They mean 
nothing because they say too much. Study the 
following selections to see how the concrete phrase- 
ology used makes the material more telling, how it 
enforces the meaning. Pick out the best expressions 
and explain why they are better than more general 
terms. In the first, note how the last sentence drives 
home the meaning of the first two. Listeners may 
understand the first two, they remember the last. 

Civil and religious liberty in this country can be preserved 
only through the agency of our political institutions. But 
those institutions alone will not suffice. It is not the ship 
so much as the skilful sailing that assures the prosperous 
voyage. 

George William Curtis: The Public Duty of Educated Men, 1877 

Describe the significance of the best expressions 
in the following speech made in Parliament by Thomas 
Babington Macaulay. 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 53 

All those fierce spirits whom you hallooed on to harass us 
now turn round and begin to worry you. The Orangeman 
raises his war-whoop; Exeter Hall sets up its bray; Mr. 
Macneill shudders to see more costly cheer than ever pro- 
vided for the Priest of Baal at the table of the Queen; and 
the Protestant operatives of Dublin call for impeachments 
in exceedingly bad English. But what did you expect? 
Did you think when, to serve your turn, you called the 
devil up that it was as easy to lay him as to raise him? 
Did you think when you went on, session after session, 
thwarting and reviling those whom you knew to be in. the 
right, and flattering all the worst passions of those whom 
you knew to be in the wrong, that the day of reckoning 
would never come? It has come. There you sit, doing 
penance for the disingenuousness of years. 

Why was the style of the extract below especially 
good for the evident purpose and audience? Why 
did the author use names for the candidates? 

When an American citizen is content with voting merely, 
he consents to accept what is often a doubtful alternative. 
His first duty is to help shape the alternative. This, which 
was formerly less necessary, is now indispensable. In a 
rural community such as this country was a hundred years 
ago, whoever was nominated for office was known to his 
neighbors, and the consciousness of that knowledge was a 
conservative influence in determining nominations. But 
in the local elections of the great cities of today, elections 
that control taxation and expenditure, the mass of the voters 
vote in absolute ignorance of the candidates. The citizen 
who supposes that he does all his duty when he votes, places 
a premium upon political knavery. Thieves welcome him 
to the polls and offer him a choice, which he has done nothing 
to prevent, between Jeremy Diddler and Dick Turpin. The 



M PUBLIC SPEAKING 

party cries for which he is responsible are: " Turpin and 
Honesty," " Diddler and Reform." And within a few years, 
as a result of this indifference to the details of public duty, 
the most powerful politicians in the Empire State of the 
Union was Jonathan Wild, the Great, the captain of a band 
of plunderers. 

George William Curtis: The Public Duty of Educated Men, 1877 

Appropriate Diction. The final test of any diction 
is its appropriateness. The man who talks of dig- 
nified things as he would of a baseball game — unless 
he is doing it deliberately for humor, caricature, or 
burlesque — is ruining his own cause. The man 
who discusses trifles in the style of philosophy makes 
himself an egregious bore. As Shakespeare said, 
" Suit the action to the word, the word to the action; 
with this special observance, that you o'erstep not 
the modesty of nature." 

Beware of the flowery expression; avoid meta- 
phorical speech; flee from the lure of the overwrought 
style. In the first place it is so old-fashioned that 
audiences suspect it at once. It fails to move them. 
It may plunge its user into ridiculous failure. In 
the excitement of spontaneous composition a man 
sometimes takes risks. He may — as Pitt is reported 
to have said he did — throw himself into a sentence 
and trust to God Almighty to get him out. But a 
beginner had better walk before he tries to soar. If 
he speaks surely rather than amazingly his results 
will be better. The temptation to leave the ground 
is ever present in speaking. 

A Parliamentary debater describing the Church 
of England wound up in a flowery conclusion thus: 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 55 

" I see the Church of England rising in the land, with 
one foot firmly planted in the soil, the other stretched 
toward Heaven! " 

An American orator discussing the character of 
Washington discharged the following. 

The higher we rise in the scale of being — material, in- 
tellectual, and moral — the more certainly we quit the region 
of the brilliant eccentricities and dazzling contrasts which 
belong to a vulgar greatness. Order and proportion char- 
acterize the primordial constitution of the terrestrial system; 
ineffable harmony rules the heavens. All the great eternal 
forces act in solemn silence. The brawling torrent that 
dries up in summer deafens you with its roaring whirlpools 
in March; while the vast earth on which we dwell, with all 
its oceans and all its continents and its thousand millions of 
inhabitants, revolves unheard upon its soft axle at the rate 
of a thousand miles an hour, and rushes noiselessly on its' 
orbit a million and a half miles a day. Two storm-clouds 
encamped upon opposite hills on a sultry summer's evening, 
at the expense of no more electricity, according to Mr. 
Faraday, than is evolved in the decomposition of a single 
drop of water, will shake the surrounding atmosphere with 
their thunders, which, loudly as they rattle on the spot, 
will yet not be heard at the distance of twenty miles; while 
those tremendous and unutterable forces which ever issue 
from the throne of God, and drag the chariot wheels of 
Uranus and Neptune along the uttermost path-ways of 
the solar system, pervade the illimitable universe in silence. 

Of course, today, nobody talks like that. At least 
no one should. 

Trite Expressions. Less easily guarded against is 
the delivery of trite expressions. These are phrases 



56 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

and clauses which at first were so eloquent that once 
heard they stuck in people's minds, who then in an 
endeavor themselves to be emphatic inserted con- 
tinually into their speeches these over-worked, done- 
to-death expressions, which now having' been used 
too frequently have no real meaning. One of 
the most frequently abused is "of the people, by 
the people, for the people." Others are words and 
phrases made popular by the war. Many are no 
more than jargon — meaningless counterfeits instead 
of the legal tender of real speech. It is amazing 
to notice how persistently some of them recur in the 
remarks of apparently well-trained men who should 
know better than to insert them. The following 
were used by a prominent United States political 
leader in a single speech. He could easily have 
replaced them by living material or dispensed with 
them entirely. 

Jot or tittle; the plain unvarnished truth; God forbid; 
the jackal press; that memorable occasion; tooth and nail; 
the God of our fathers; the awful horrors of Valley Forge; 
the blood-stained heights of Yorktown; tell it not in Gath; 
proclaim it not in the streets of Askalon; peace with honor; 
the Arabian Nights; Munchausen; the fathers; our globe- 
encircling domain; I am a Democrat; the pirates of the 
Barbary Coast; Democratic gospel pure and undefiled; 
Janus-faced double; Good Lord, good devil; all things to 
all men; God-fearing patriots; come what may; all things 
are fair in love or war; the silken bowstring; the unwary 
voter; bait to catch gudgeons; to live by or to die by; 
these obsequious courtiers; Guttenburg; rubber stamp; 
at all hazards; the most unkindest cut of all. 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 57 

With the artificiality, the stiltedness of the fore- 
going contrast the simplicity, the sincerity of these 
two extracts from Abraham Lincoln. 

And now, if they would listen — as I suppose they will 
not — I would address a few words to the Southern people. 

I would say to them: You consider yourselves a reason- 
able and a just people; and I consider that in the general 
qualities of reason and justice you are not inferior to any other 
people. Still, when you speak of us Republicans, you do 
so only to denounce us as reptiles, or, at the best, as no 
better than outlaws. You will grant a hearing to pirates or 
murderers, but nothing like it to " Black Republicans." In 
all your contentions with one another, each of you deems an 
unconditional condemnation of " Black Republicanism " 
as the first thing to be attended to. Indeed, such con- 
demnation of us seems to be an indispensable prerequisite — 
license, so to speak — among you to be admitted or per- 
mitted to speak at all. Now can you or not be prevailed 
upon to pause and to consider whether this is quite just to 
us, or even to yourselves? Bring forward your charges and 
specifications, and then be patient long enough to hear us 
deny or justify. 

Cooper Union Speech, 1860 

My Friends: No one, not in my situation, can appreciate 
my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and 
the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I 
have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a 
young to an old man. Here my children have been born, 
and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when or 
whether ever I may return, with a task before me greater 
than that which rested upon Washington. Without the 
assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I 
cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trust- 



58 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

ing in Him who can go with, me, and remain with you, and 
be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all 
will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope 
in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affec- 
tionate farewell. 

Farewell Address ct Springfield, 1861 

Kinds of Sentences. What kinds of sentences shall 
a speaker construct as he speaks? That there is a 
difference between those a person composes when he 
writes and those the same person is likely to evolve 
when he speaks is realized by every one. We hear 
that a speaker is " booky," or conversational, that 
he is stilted or lively, that he is too formal, that his 
discourse is dull and flat. To a great degree these 
criticisms are based upon the sentence structure. 

The Simple Sentence. The simple sentence con- 
tains only one subject and one predicate. The com- 
plex sentence contains one independent clause and at 
least one subordinate clause. The compound sen- 
tence contains two or more independent clauses. It 
would be good advice to urge the employment of the 
simple sentence were it not for the fact that a long 
succession of sentences constructed exactly alike, 
making the same impression of form and sound and 
length, is likely to produce a deadly monotony of 
emphasis and pause, an impression of immaturity on 
the part of the speaker and of lack of skill in molding 
his phrases. Yet, in the main, the simple sentence 
is a valuable kind to know how to deliver. Con- 
taining but a single thought it is likely to make a 
definite impression upon a listener. It offers him not 
too much to grasp. It leads him a single step along 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 59 

the way. It speaks clearly, concisely. Its advan- 
tages follow from its qualities. At the beginning of 
addresses it is especially efficient in leading the audi- 
ence at the same rate — slowly, it should be — as 
the speaker. In intricate explanation, in close reason- 
ing, in matters of paramount importance, it should 
be employed. 

Management of the short, simple sentence in written 
prose is difficult. In spoken discourse, as well, it is 
so easy to fall into the First Primer style that while 
the advantages of the use of the simple sentence are 
great, the ability to produce good sentences in suc- 
cession must be developed. 

The Complex Sentence. The complex sentence 
offers a good form for introducing pertinent, minor 
details, which are necessary, yet which do not merit 
inclusion in the general level of the speech. Aided 
by proper pitch and inflection of the voice, they can 
be skilfully subordinated to main ideas, yet intro- 
duced so adroitly that they at times relieve attention, 
at others briefly explain, at others keep adding up 
in a series the effect of which is a large total. Fre- 
quently such sentences indicate clearly the progress 
of the discussion. A topic introduced in a subordinate 
clause may later be raised to more importance without 
abruptness, for hearers are already familiar with it. A 
topic already treated may be recalled by citation in 
a later clause. So various parts of a speech may be 
closely knit together to present a coherent, progressive, 
unified whole. 

In easily grasped general, descriptive, narrative, 
explanatory material, complex sentences will allow 



60 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

the covering of a wide field, or a long time, in short 
order by condensing facts into the few words of 
subordinate clauses. 

The Compound Sentence. Somewhat like the use 
of complex sentences for general material is the use 
of compound ones for informal topics, familiar dis- 
course, easy address, lighter material. Valuable, too, 
is this form for the speaker who knows accurately the 
meaning of conjunctions, who can avoid the stringing 
together of what should be simple sentences by a 
dozen senseless ands. A good rule for the beginner 
is to allow no ands in his speeches except those so 
imbedded in phrases — husband and wife, now and 
then, principal and interest — that he cannot avoid 
them. Let him never speak such sentences as, " I 
came to this meeting and discovered only when I 
got here that I was scheduled to speak." Let him 
be careful of beginning sentences with and after he has 
made a pause. 

The Exclamatory Sentence. Many speakers yield 
to the temptation to strive for effect by delivering 
exclamatory sentences — sometimes only clauses and 
phrases so enunciated. The disposition to do this 
is born of the desire to be emphatic. Strong feeling 
makes one burst out in ejaculation. Used sparingly 
this form may be extremely effective. Used too 
frequently it reduces a speech to a mere series of ejac- 
ulations of little more value than a succession of 
grunts, groans, and sobs. Exclamatory sentences 
seldom convey much meaning. They indicate emotion. 
But a speech, to be worth listening to, must convey 
ideas. 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 61 

The Interrogative Sentence. A second sentence 
which may be classed with the preceding is the in- 
terrogative. There is a disposition on the part of 
speakers to ask direct questions of the audience. 
Frequently the rhetorical question — which is one 
asked because the answer is the quite apparent fact 
the speaker wants to impress upon his hearers — is 
an effective method of making a seemingly personal 
appeal to sluggish intellects or lazy wills. The in- 
terrogative form has the same disadvantage as the 
exclamatory. Except when its answer is perfectly 
plain it transfers no meaning. It would be easily 
possible for a speaker with no ideas at all, no knowl- 
edge of a topic, to engage time and attention by merely 
constructing a series of questions. At the conclusion 
the audience would wonder why in the world he spoke, 
for he had so little to say. 

Long and Short Sentences. So far as long and 
short sentences are concerned some general rules 
have already been hinted at in dealing with other 
kinds. The advantages of the short sentence are 
mainly those of clearness, directness, emphasis. Its 
dangers are monotony, bareness, over-compactness. 
The advantages of the long — that is, quite long — 
sentence, are rather difficult to comprehend. A 
wordy sentence is likely to defeat its own purpose. 
Instead of guiding it will lose its hearer. Somewhat 
long sentences — as already said — will serve in gen- 
eral discussions, in rapidly moving descriptive and 
narrative passages, in rather simple explanation and 
argument. No one can state at just what number of 
words a short sentence becomes medium, and when 



62 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

the division of medium becomes long. Yet there 
must be some limits. A sentence in Les Miserables 
includes nearly one thousand words in both French 
original and English translation. John Milton pro- 
duced some extraordinarily long sentences. But these 
are in written discourse. Some modern speakers have 
come dangerously near the limit. In one printed 
speech one sentence has four hundred ten words in 
it; a later one goes to five hundred forty. This 
second would fill about half a column of the usual 
newspaper. Surely these are much too long. A 
speaker can frequently make a long sentence accept- 
able by breaking it up into shorter elements by sensible 
pauses. Yet the general direction must surely be: 
avoid sentences which are too long. 

Variety. The paramount rule of sentence structure 
in speech-making is certainly: secure variety. Long, 
medium, short; declarative, exclamatory, interrog- 
ative; simple, loose, periodic; use them all as material 
permits and economy of time and attention prescribes. 
With the marvelous variety possible in English sen- 
tence structure, no person with ideas and language 
at command need be a monotonous speaker. 

EXERCISES 

1. Criticize this selection for its diction and sentence 
structure. What excellences has it? What can you find 
fault with? Does its date explain it? 

" The books in the library, the portraits, the table at 
which he wrote, the scientific culture of the land, the 
course of agricultural occupation, the coming-in of har- 
vests, fruit of the seed his own hand had scattered, the 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 63 

animals and implements of husbandry, the trees planted 
by him in lines, in copses, in orchards by thousands, the 
seat under the noble elm on which he used to sit to feel 
the southwest wind at evening, or hear the breathings of 
the sea, or the not less audible music of the starry heavens, 
all seemed at first unchanged. The sun of a bright day 
from which, however, something of the fervors of mid- 
summer were wanting, fell temperately on them all, filled 
the air on all sides with the utterances of life, and gleamed 
on the long line of ocean. Some of those whom on earth 
he loved best, still were there. The great mind still 
seemed to preside; the great presence to be with you; 
you might expect to hear again the rich and playful tones 
of the voice of the old hospitality. Yet a moment more, 
and all the scene took on the aspect of one great monu- 
ment, inscribed with his name, and sacred to his memory. 
And such it shall be in all the future of America! The 
sensation of desolateness, and loneliness, and darkness, 
with which you see it now, will pass away; the sharp 
grief of love and friendship will become soothed; men 
will repair thither as they are wont to commemorate the 
great days of history; the same glance shall take in, and 
same emotions shall greet and bless, the Harbor of the 
Pilgrims and the Tomb of Webster." 
Rufus Choate: A Discourse Commemorative of Daniel Webster, 1853 

2. What is the effect of the questions in the following? 
Are the sentences varied? If the occasion was momentous, 
what is the style? 

" And judging by the past, I wish to know what there 
has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last 
ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen 
have been pleased to solace themselves and the house? 
Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has 
been lately received? Trust it not, Sir; it will prove a 



64 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed 
with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception 
of our petition comports with those warlike preparations 
which cover our water and darken our land. Are fleets 
and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? 
Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled 
that force must be called in to win back our love? " 

Patrick Henry: Speech in the Virginia Convention, 1775 

3. List the concrete details given below. What effect 
have they? What elements give the idea of the extent of 
the Colonies' fisheries? Are the sentences long or short? 
Does their success justify them? 

"Look at the manner in which the people of New 
England have of late carried on the whale fishery. Whilst 
we follow them among the tumbling mountains of ice, 
and behold them penetrating into the deepest frozen 
recess of Hudson's Bay and Davis' Straits, whilst we are 
looking for them beneath the arctic circle, we hear that 
they have pierced into the opposite region of polar cold, 
that they are at the antipodes, and engaged under the 
frozen Serpent of the South. Falkland Islands, which 
seemed too remote and romantic an object for the grasp 
of national ambition, is but a stage and resting-place in 
the progress of their victorious industry. Nor is the 
equinoctial heat more discouraging to them than the 
accumulated winter of both the poles. We know that 
whilst some of them draw the line and strike the harpoon 
on the coast of Africa, others run the longitude and 
pursue their gigantic game along the coast of Brazil. 
No sea but what is vexed by their fisheries; no climate 
that is not witness to their toil. Neither the perseverance 
of Holland, nor the activity of France, nor the dexterous 
and firm sagacity of English enterprise ever carried this 
most perilous mode of hardy industry to the extent to 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 65 

which it has been pushed by this recent people; a people 
who are still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not yet 
hardened into the bone of manhood.' ' 

Edmund Burke: Conciliation with America, 1775 

4. Is the following clear? What kind of sentence is it? 
What minor phrase? Is this phrase important? Why? 
Why did Lincoln repeat this sentence, practically with no 
change, twelve times in a single speech? 

" The sum of the whole is that of our thirty-nine 
fathers who framed the original Constitution, twenty- 
one — a clear majority of the whole — certainly under- 
stood that no proper division of local from Federal au- 
thority, nor any part of the Constitution, forbade the 
Federal Government to control slavery in the Federal 
Territories." 

Abraham Lincoln: Cooper Union Speech, 1860 

5. Is the following well phrased? What makes it so? 
Is any expression too strong? Do you object to any? How 
many of the words would you be likely not to use? 

"It is but too true that there are many whose whole 
scheme of freedom is made up of pride, perverseness, and 
insolence. They feel themselves in a state of thraldom; 
they imagine that their souls are cooped and cabined in, 
unless they have some man, or some body of men, de- 
pendent on their mercy. The desire of having some one 
below them descends to those who are the very lowest of 
all; and a Protestant cobbler, debased by his poverty, 
but exalted by his share of the ruling church, feels a pride 
in knowing it is by his generosity alone that the peer, 
whose footman's instep he measures, is able to keep his 
chaplain from a gaol. This disposition is the true source 
of the passion which many men, in very humble life, 



66 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

have taken to the American war. Our subjects in America; 
our colonies; our dependents. This lust of party power 
is the liberty they hunger and thirst for; and this Siren 
song of ambition has charmed ears that we would have 
thought were never organized to that sort of music." 

Edmund Burke: Speech at Bristol, 1780 

6. Describe the effects of the questions in the next. 
How is sentence variety secured? What effects have the 
simple, declarative sentences? 

" And from what have these consequences sprung? 
We have been involved in no war. We have been at 
peace with all the world. We have been visited with no 
national calamity. Our people have been advancing in 
general intelligence, and, I will add, as great and alarm- 
ing as has been the advance of political corruption among 
the mercenary corps who look to government for support, 
the morals and virtue of the community at large have 
been advancing in improvement. What, I again repeat, 
is the cause? " 

John C. Calhoun : Speech on the Force Bill, 1833 

7. What quality predominates in the following? Does 
it lower the tone of the passage too much? .Is the inter- 
rogative form of the last sentence better than the declarative? 
Why? Has the last observation any close connection with 
the preceding portion? Can it be justified? 

"Modesty is a lovely trait, which sets the last seal 
to a truly great character, as the blush of innocence adds 
the last charm to youthful beauty. When, on his return 
from one of his arduous campaigns in the Seven Years* 
War, the Speaker of the Virginia Assembly, by order of 
the House, 'addressed Colonel Washington in acknowledg- 
ment of his services, the youthful hero rose to reply; 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 67 

but humility checked his utterance, diffidence sealed his 
lips. * Sit down, Colonel Washington,' said the Speaker; 
* the House sees that your modesty is equal to your 
merit, and that exceeds my power of language to describe.' 
But who ever heard of a modest Alexander or a modest 
Caesar, or a modest hero or statesman of the present 
day? — much as some of them would be improved by a 
measure of that quality." 

Edward Everett: Character of Washington, 1856 

8. Look up the meaning of every unfamiliar expression 
in this extract. Is the quotation at the end in good taste? 
Give reasons for your answer. For what kinds of audiences 
would this speech be fitting? 

" The remedy for the constant excess of party spirit 
lies, and lies alone, in the courageous independence of 
the individual citizen. The only way, for instance, to 
procure the party nomination of good men, is for every 
self-respecting voter to refuse to vote for bad men. In 
the medieval theology the devils feared nothing so much 
as the drop of holy water and the sign of the cross, by 
which they were exorcised. The evil spirits of party 
fear nothing so much as bolting and scratching. In hoc 
signo vinces. If a farmer would reap a good crop, he 
scratches the weeds out of his field. If we would have 
good men upon the ticket, we must scratch bad men off. 
If the scratching breaks down the party, let it break: 
for the success of the party, by such means would break 
down the country. The evil spirits must be taught by 
means that they can understand. ' Them fellers,' said 
the captain of a canal-boat of his men, * Them fellers 
never think you mean a thing until you kick 'em. They 
feel that, and understand.' " 
George William Curtis: The Public Duty of Educated Men, 1877 



68 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

9. Describe the quality of the next extract. What is 
its style? Are repetitions allowable? What then of variety? 
Point out contrasts of words and phrases. 

" What, then it is said, would you legislate in haste? 
Would you legislate in times of great excitement concern- 
ing matters of such deep concern? Yes, Sir, I would; 
and if any bad consequences should follow from the haste 
and excitement, let those be answerable who, when there 
was no need to haste, when there existed no excitement, 
refused to listen to any project of reform; nay, made it 
an argument against reform that the public mind was 
not excited. ... I allow that hasty legislation is an 
evil. But reformers are compelled to legislate fast, just 
because bigots will not legislate early. Reformers are 
compelled to legislate in times of excitement, because 
bigots will not legislate in times of tranquillity." 

Thomas Babington Macaulay: On the Reform Bill, 1832 

10. Describe the diction of the next extract. Describe 
the prevailing kind of sentences. Do you approve of these 
in such an instance? Explain your answer. Does it remind 
you — in tone — of any other passage already quoted in 
this book? What is your opinion of the style? 

" There has been a change of government. It began 
two years ago, when the House of Representatives became 
Democratic by a decisive majority. It has now been 
completed. The Senate about to assemble will also be 
Democratic. The offices of President and Vice-President 
have been put into the hands of Democrats. What does 
the change mean? That is the question that is uppermost 
in our minds today. That is the question I am going 
to try to answer in order, if I may, to interpret the occasion. 

" This is not a day of triumph; it is a day of dedication. 
Here muster, not the forces of party, but the forces of 



WORDS AND SENTENCES 69 

humanity. Men's hearts wait upon us; men's lives hang 
in the balance; men's hopes call upon us to say what we 
will do. Who shall live up to the great trust? Who 
dares fail to try? I summon all honest men, all patriotic, 
all forward-looking men to my side. God helping me, 
I will not fail them, if they will but counsel and sustain 
me." 

Woodrow Wilson: Inaugural, 1913 

11. Consider sentence length in the following: Which 
words are significant? How is concreteness secured? 

" Ours is a government of liberty by, through, and 
under the law. No man is above it and no man is below 
it. The crime of cunning, the crime of greed, the crime 
of violence, are all equally crimes, and against them all 
alike the law must set its face. This is not and never 
shall be a government either of plutocracy or of a mob. 
It is, it has been, and it will be a government of the people; 
including alike the people of great wealth, of moderate 
wealth, the people who employ others, the people who 
are employed, the wage worker, the lawyer, the mechanic, 
the banker, the farmer; including them all, protecting 
each and every one if he acts decently and squarely, and 
discriminating against any one of them, no matter from 
what class he comes, if he does not act squarely and fairly, 
if he does not obey the law. While all people are foolish 
if they violate or rail against the law, wicked as well as 
foolish, but all foolish — yet the most foolish man in this 
Republic is the man of wealth who complains because 
the law is administered with impartial justice against or 
for him. His folly is greater than the folly of any other 
man who so complains; for he lives and moves and has 
his being because the law does in fact protect him and 
his property." 

Theodore Roosevelt at Spokane, 1903 



CHAPTER IV 
BEGINNING THE SPEECH 






Speech-making a Formal Matter. Every speech 
is more or less a formal affair. The speaker standing 
is separated from the other persons present by 
his prominence. He is removed from them by stand- 
ing while they sit, by being further away from them 
than in ordinary conversation. The greater the 
distance between him and his listeners the more 
formal the proceeding becomes. When a person 
speaks " from the floor " as it is called, that is, by 
simply rising at his seat and speaking, there is a marked 
difference in the manner of his delivery and also in 
the effect upon the audience. In many gatherings, 
speeches and discussions " from the floor " are not 
allowed at all, in others this practice is the regular 
method of conducting business. Even in the school- 
room when the student speaks from his place he feels 
less responsibility than when he stands at the front 
of the room before his classmates. As all formal 
exercises have their regular rules of procedure it will 
be well to list the more usual formulas for beginnings 
of speeches. 

The Salutation. . In all cases where speeches are 
made there is some person who presides. This person 
may be the Vice-President of the United States pre- 
siding over the Senate, the Speaker of the House of 

70 



BEGINNING THE SPEECH 71 

Representatives, the Chief Justice of the United 
States Supreme Court, the president of a city board 
of aldermen, the judge of a court, the president of a 
corporation, of a lodge, of a church society, of a club, 
the pastor of a church, the chancellor or provost or 
dean of a college, the principal of a school, the chair- 
man of a committee, the toastmaster of a banquet, the 
teacher of a class. The first remark of a speaker 
must always be the recognition of this presiding 
officer. 

Then there are frequently present other persons 
who are distinct from the ordinary members of the 
audience, to whom some courtesy should be shown in 
this salutation. Their right to recognition depends 
upon their rank, their importance at the time, some 
special peculiar reason for separating them from the 
rest of the audience. The speaker will have to decide 
for himself in most cases as to how far he will classify 
his hearers. In some instances there is no difficulty. 
Debaters must recognize the presiding officer, the 
judges if they be distinct from the regular audience, 
the members of the audience itself. Lawyers in 
court must recognize only the judge and the " gentle- 
men of the jury." In a debate on the first draft for 
the League of Nations presided over by the Governor 
of Massachusetts, Senator Lodge's salutation was 
'* Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, My Fellow 
Americans." The last was added unquestionably be- 
cause patriotic feeling was so strong at the time that 
reference to our nationality was a decidedly fitting 
compliment, and also perhaps, because the speaker 
realized that his audience might be slightly prejudiced 



72 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

against the view he was going to advance in criticizing 
the League Covenant. At times a formal salutation 
becomes quite long to include all to whom recognition 
is due. At a university commencement a speaker 
might begin: "Mr. Chancellor, Members of the 
Board of Trustees, Gentlemen of the Faculty, Can- 
didates for Degrees, Ladies and Gentlemen." 

Other salutations are Your Honor, Mr. President, 
Mr. Speaker, Madame President, Madame Chairman, 
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Stevenson, Sir, Mr. Toastmaster, 
Mr. Moderator, Honorable Judges, Ladies, Gentle- 
men, Fellow Citizens, Classmates, Fellow Workers, 
Gentlemen of the Senate, Gentlemen of the Congress, 
Plenipotentiaries of the German Empire, My Lord 
Mayor and Citizens of London; Mr. Mayor, Mr. 
Secretary, Admiral Fletcher and Gentlemen of the 
Fleet; Mr. Grand Master, Governor McMillan, Mr. 
Mayor, My Brothers, Men and Women of Tennessee. 

The most important thing about the salutation is 
that it should never be omitted. To begin to speak 
without having first recognized some presiding officer 
and the audience stamps one immediately as thought- 
less, unpractised, or worse still — discourteous. 

Having observed the propriety of the salutation 
the speaker should make a short pause before he pro- 
ceeds to the introduction of his speech proper. 

Length of the Introduction. There was a time when 
long elaborate introductions were the rule, and text- 
books explained in detail how to develop them. The 
main assumption seems to have been that the farther 
away from his topic the speaker began, the longer 
and more indirect the route by which he approached 






BEGINNING THE SPEECH 73 

it, the more sudden and surprising the start with 
which it was disclosed to the audience, the better the 
speech. Such views are no longer held. One of the 
criticisms of the speeches of the English statesman, 
Burke, is that instead of coming at once to the import- 
ant matter under consideration — and all his speeches 
were upon paramount issues — he displayed his rhe- 
torical skill and literary ability before men impatient 
to finish discussion and provide for action by casting 
their votes. If a student will read the beginning of 
Burke's famous Speech on Conciliation he will readily; 
understand the force of this remark, for instead of 
bringing forward the all-important topic of arranging 
for colonial adjustment Burke uses hundreds of words 
upon the " flight of a bill for ever," his own pretended 
superstitiousness and belief in omens. So strong is 
the recognition of the opposite practice today that 
it is at times asserted that speeches should dispense 
with introductions longer than a single sentence. 

Purpose of the Introduction. So far as the ma- 
terial of the speech is concerned the introduction 
has but one purpose — to bring the topic of the suc- 
ceeding remarks clearly and arrestingly before the 
audience. It should be clearly done, so that there 
shall be no misunderstanding from the beginning. 
It should be arrestingly done, so that the attention 
shall be aroused and held from this announcement 
even until the end. A man should not declare that 
he is going to explain the manufacture of paper- 
cutters, and then later proceed to describe the making 
of those frames into which rolls of wrapping paper 
are fitted underneath a long cutting blade, because 



74 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

to most people the expression " paper-cutters " means 
dull-edged, ornamental knives for desks and library 
tables. His introduction would not be clear. On 
the other hand if a minister were to state plainly that 
he was going to speak on the truth that "it is more 
blessed to give than to receive" his congregation 
might turn its attention to its own affairs at once 
because the topic promises no novelty. But if he 
declares that he is going to make a defense of selfish- 
ness he would surely startle his hearers into attention, 
so that he could go on to describe the personal satis- 
faction and peace of mind which comes to the doers 
of good deeds. A speaker could arrest attention by 
stating that he intended to prove the immorality of 
the principle that " honesty is the best policy," if 
he proceeded to plead for that virtue not as a repaying 
policy but as an innate guiding principle of right, no 
matter what the consequences. In humorous, half- 
jesting, ironical material, of course, clearness may be 
justifiably sacrificed to preserving interest. The in- 
troduction may state the exact opposite of the real 
topic. 

When nothing else except the material of the intro- 
duction need be considered, it should be short. Even 
in momentous matters this is true. Notice the brevity 
of the subjoined introduction of a speech upon a deeply 
moving subject. 

Gentlemen of the Congress: 

The Imperial German Government on the 31st day of 
January announced to this Government and to the Govern- 
ments of the other neutral nations that on and after the 1st 
day of February, the present month, it would adopt a policy 






BEGINNING THE SPEECH 75 

with regard to the use of submarines against all shipping 
seeking to pass through certain designated areas of the high 
seas, to which it is clearly my duty to call your attention. 

Woodrow Wilson, 1917 

The following, though much longer, aims to do the 
same thing — to announce the topic of the speech 
clearly. Notice that in order to emphasize this 
endeavor to secure clearness the speaker declares 
that he has repeatedly tried to state his position in 
plain English. He then makes clear that he is not 
opposed to a League of Nations; he is merely opposed 
to the terms already submitted for the one about to 
be formed. This position he makes quite clear in 
the last sentence here quoted. 

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, My Fellow 
Americans : 

I am largely indebted to President Lowell for this oppor- 
tunity to address this great audience. He and I are friends 
of many years, both Republicans. He is the president of 
our great university, one of the most important and in- 
fluential places in the United States. He is also an eminent 
student and historian of politics and government. He and 
I may differ as to methods in this great question now before 
the people, but I am sure that in regard to the security of 
the peace of the world and the welfare of the United States 
we do not differ in purposes. 

I am going to say a single word, if you will permit me, as 
to my own position. I have tried to state it over and over 
again. I thought I had stated it in plain English. But 
there are those who find in misrepresentation a convenient 
weapon for controversy, and there are others, most excellent 
people, who perhaps have not seen what I have said and 
who possibly have misunderstood me. It has been said 



76 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

that I am against any League of Nations. I am not; far 
from it. I am anxious to have the nations, the free nations 
of the world, united in a league, as we call it, a society, as 
the French call it, but united, to do all that can be done to 
secure the future peace of the world and to bring about a 
general disarmament. 

Senator Henry Cabot Lodge in a debate in Boston, 1919 

The Introduction and the Audience. When we 
turn from the material of the introduction or the 
speech we naturally consider the audience. Just as 
the salutations already listed in this chapter indicate 
how careful speakers are in adapting their very first 
words to the special demands of recognition for a 
single audience, so a study of introductions to speeches 
which have been delivered will support the same 
principle. A speech is made to affect a single audience, 
therefore it must be fitted as closely as possible to 
that audience in order to be effective. A city official 
invited to a neighborhood gathering to instruct citi- 
zens in the method of securing a children's playground 
in that district is not only wasting time but insulting 
the brains and dispositions of his listeners if he drawls 
off a long introduction showing the value of public 
playgrounds in a crowded city. His presence before 
that group of people proves that they accept all he < 
can tell them on that topic. He is guilty of making 
a bad introduction which seriously impairs the value 
of anything he may say later concerning how this 
part of the city can induce the municipal government 
to set aside enough money to provide the open space 
and the apparatus. Yet this speech was made in a 
large American city by an expert on playgrounds. 



BEGINNING THE SPEECH 77 

People remembered more vividly his wrong kind of 
opening remarks than they did his advice concerning 
a method of procedure. 

Effect of the Introduction upon the Audience. Many 
centuries ago a famous and successful Roman orator 
stipulated the purpose of an introduction wiih respect 
to the audience. Cicero stated that an introduction 
should render its hearers " benevolos, attentos, dociles "; 
that is, kindly disposed towards the speaker himself, 
attentive to his remarks, and willing to be instructed 
by his explanations or arguments. Not every one 
has a pleasing personality but he can strive to acquire 
one. He can, perhaps, not add many attributes to 
offset those nature has given him, but he can always 
reduce, eradicate, or change those which interfere 
with his reception by others. Education and training 
will work wonders for people who are not blessed 
with that elusive quality, charm, or that winner of 
consideration, impressiveness. Self-examination, self- 
restraint, self-development, are prime elements in 
such a process. Great men have not been beyond 
criticism for such qualities. Great men have recog- 
nized their value and striven to rid themselves of 
hindrances and replace them by helps. 

Every reader is familiar with Benjamin Franklin's 
account of his own method as related in his Auto- 
biography, yet it will bear quotation here to illustrate 
this point: 

While I was intent on improving my language, I met with 
an English Grammar (I think it was Greenwood's), at the 
end of which there were two little sketches of the arts of 
rhetoric and logic, the latter finishing with a specimen of 



78 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

a dispute in the Socratic method; and soon after I procured 
Xenophon's Memorable Things of Socrates, wherein there 
are many instances of the same method. I was charmed 
with it, adopted it, dropt my abrupt contradiction and 
positive argumentation, and put on the humble inquirer 
and doubter. ... I found this method safest for myself 
and very embarrassing to those against whom I used it; 
therefore I took a delight in it, practised it continually, 
and grew very artful and expert in drawing people, even of 
superior knowledge, into concessions, the consequences of 
which they did not foresee, entangling them in difficulties 
out of which they could not extricate themselves, and so 
obtaining victories that neither myself nor my cause always 
deserved. I continued this method some few years, but 
gradually left it, retaining only the habit of expressing my- 
self in terms of modest diffidence; never using, when I 
advanced anything that may possibly be disputed, the words 
Certainly, Undoubtedly, or any others that give the air of 
positiveness to an opinion; but rather say, I conceive or 
apprehend a thing to be so and so; it appears to me, or / 
should think it so or so, for such and such reasons; or / 
imagine it to be so; or it is so if I am not mistaken. This 
habit, I believe, has been of great advantage to me when I 
have had occasion to inculcate my opinions, and persuade 
men into measures that I have been from time to time en- 
gaged in promoting; and as the chief ends of conversation 
are to infwm or to be informed, to please or to persuade, I 
wish well-meaning, sensible men would not lessen their 
power of doing good by a positive, assuming manner, that 
seldom fails to disgust, tends to create opposition, and to 
defeat every one of those purposes for which speech was 
given to us, to wit, giving or receiving information or pleasure. 
For if you would inform, a positive and dogmatical manner 
in advancing your sentiments may provoke contradiction 
and prevent a candid attention. If you wish information 



BEGINNING THE SPEECH 79 

and improvement from the knowledge of others, and yet 
at the same time express yourself as firmly fixed in your 
present opinions, modest, sensible men who do not love 
disputation will probably leave you undisturbed in the 
possession of your error. And by such a manner you can 
seldom hope to recommend yourself in pleasing your hearers, 
or to persuade those whose concurrence you desire. Pope 
says, judiciously: 

"Men should be taught as if you taught them not, 
And things unknown propos'd as things forgot;" 

farther recommending to us 

"To speak, tho' sure, with seeming diffidence." 

Of course an audience must be induced to listen. 
The obligation is always with the speaker. He is 
appealing for consideration, he wants to affect the 
hearers, therefore he must have at his command all 
the resources of securing their respectful attention. 
He must be able to employ all the legitimate means 
of winning their attention. A good speaker will not 
stoop to use any tricks or devices that are not legiti- 
mate. A trick, even when it is successful, is still 
nothing but a trick, and though it secure the tempo- 
rary attention of the lower orders of intellect it can 
never hold the better minds of an audience. Surprises, 
false alarms, spectacular appeals, may find their de- 
fenders. One widely reputed United States lawyer 
in speaking before audiences of young people used 
to advance theatrically to the edge of the stage, and, 
then, pointing an accusing finger at one part of the 
audience, declare in loud ringing tones, " You're a 
sneak! " It is questionable whether any attempt at 
arousing interest could justify such a brusque ap- 



80 PUBLIC SPEAKING 



ous 



proach. Only in broadly comic or genuinely humorous 
addresses can it be said that the end justifies the means 

When the audience has been induced to listen, the 
rest should be easy for the good speaker. Then comes 
into action his skill at explanation, his ability to reason 
and convince, to persuade and sway, which is the 
speaker's peculiar art. If they will listen to him, 
he should be able to instruct them. The introduction 
must, so far as this last is concerned, clear the way 
for the remainder of the speech. The methods by 
which such instruction, reasoning, and persuasion 
are effected best will be treated later in this book. 

Having covered the preceding explanation of the 
aims and forms of introductions, let us look at a few 
which have been delivered by regularly practising 
speech-makers before groups of men whose interest, 
concern, and business it was to listen. All men who 
speak frequently are extremely uneven in their quality 
and just as irregular in their success. One of the 
best instances of this unevenness and irregularity was 
Edmund Burke, whose career and practice are bound 
to afford food for thought and discussion to every 
student of the power and value of the spoken word. 
Some of Burke's speeches are models for imitation 
and study, others are warnings for avoidance. At 
one time when he felt personally disturbed by the 
actions of the House of Commons, because he as a 
member of the minority could not affect the voting, 
he began a speech exactly as no man should under 
any circumstances. No man in a deliberative as- 
sembly can be excused for losing control of himself. 
Yet Burke opened his remarks with these plain words. 



BEGINNING THE SPEECH 81 

" Mr. Speaker! I rise under some embarrassment occa- 
sioned by a feeling of delicacy toward one-half of the 
House, and of sovereign contempt for the other half." 

This is childish, of course. A man may not in- 
frequently be forced by circumstances to speak before 
an audience whose sentiments, opinions, prejudices, 
all place them in a position antagonistic to his own. 
How shall he make them well-disposed, attentive, 
willing to be instructed? The situation is not likely 
to surround a beginning speaker, but men in affairs, 
in business, in courts, must be prepared for such cir- 
cumstances. One of the most striking instances of 
a man who attempted to speak before an antagonistic 
group and yet by sheer power of his art and language 
ended by winning them to his own party is in Shake- 
speare's Julius Caesar when Mark Antony speaks 
over his dead friend's body. Brutus allows it, but 
insists on speaking to the people first that he may 
explain why he and his fellow conspirators assassinated 
the great leader. It was a mistake to allow a person 
from the opposite party to have the last word before 
the populace, but that is not the point just here. 
Brutus is able to explain why a group of noble Romans 
felt that for the safety of the state and its inhabitants, 
they had to kill the rising favorite who would soon 
as King rule them all. When he ceases speaking, the 
citizens approve the killing. Mark Antony per- 
ceives that, so at the beginning of his speech he seems 
to agree with the people. Caesar was his friend, yet 
Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an hon- 
orable man. Thus the skilful orator makes the pop- 
ulace well-disposed towards him, then attentive. 



82 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Having secured those things he proceeds slowly and 
unobtrusively to instruct them. It takes only a 
few lines until he has made them believe all he wants 
them to; before the end of his oration he has them 
crying out upon the murderers of their beloved Caesar, 
for whose lives they now thirst. Yet only ten minutes 
earlier they were loudly acclaiming them as deliverers 
of their country. The entire scene should be analyzed 
carefully by the student. It is the second scene of 
the third act of the play. 

In actual life a man would hardly have to go so far 
as seemingly to agree with such opposite sentiments 
as expressed in this situation from a stage tragedy. 
It is general knowledge that during the early years of 
the American Civil War England sympathized with 
the southern states, mainly because the effective 
blockade maintained by the North prevented raw 
cotton from reaching the British mills. Henry Ward 
Beecher attempted to present the union cause to the 
English in a series of addresses throughout the country. 
When he appeared upon the platform in Liverpool 
the audience broke out into a riot of noise which ef- 
fectively drowned all his words for minutes. The 
speaker waited until he could get in a phrase. Finally 
he was allowed to deliver a few sentences. By his 
patience, his appeal to their English sense of fair play, 
and to a large degree by his tolerant sense of humor, 
he won their attention. His material, his power as 
a speaker did all the rest. 

It is a matter of very little consequence to me, personally, 
whether I speak here tonight or not. [Laughter and cheers.^ 
But one thing is very certain, if you do permit me to speak 



BEGINNING THE SPEECH 83 

here tonight, you will hear very plain talking. [ Applause 
and hisses. ~] You will not find me to be a man that dared to 
speak about Great Britain three thousand miles off, and then 
is afraid to speak to Great Britain when he stands on her 
shores. [Immense applause and hisses.] And if I do not 
mistake the tone and temper of Englishmen they had rather 
have a man who opposes them in a manly way [applause 
from all parts of the hall] than a sneak that agrees with them 
in an unmanly way. [Applause and " Bravo! "] Now, if 
I can carry you with me by sound convictions, I shall be im- 
mensely glad [applause]; but if I cannot carry you with 
me by facts and sound arguments, I do not wish you to go 
with me at all; and all that I ask is simply fair play. [Ap- 
plause, and a voice: " You shall have it too."] 

Those of you who are kind enough to wish to favor my 
speaking — and you will observe that my voice is slightly 
husky, from having spoken almost every night in succession 
for some time past — those who wish to hear me will do me 
the kindness simply to sit still and to keep still; and I and 
my friends the Secessionists will make the noise. [Laughter.] 
Henry Ward Beecher, in speech at Liverpool, 1863 

The beginning of one of Daniel Webster's famous 
speeches was a triumph of the deliverer's recognition 
of the mood of an audience. In the Senate in 1830 
feeling had been running high over a resolution con- 
cerning public lands. Innocent enough in its ap- 
pearance, this resolution really covered an attempt 
at the extension of the slavery territory. Both North 
and South watched the progress of the debate upon 
this topic with almost held breath. Hayne of South 
Carolina had spoken upon it during two days when 
Webster rose to reply to him. The Senate galleries 
were packed, the members themselves were stirred 



84 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

up to the highest pitch of keen intensity. Nearly 
the entire effect of Webster's statement and argument 
for the North depended upon the effect he could make 
upon the Senators at the very opening of his speech. 
Webster began in a low voice, with a calm manner, 
to speak very slowly. In a second he had soothed 
the emotional tension, set all the hearers quite at 
ease, and by the time the Secretary had read the reso- 
lution asked by Webster, he had them in complete 
control. His task was to make them attentive, but 
more especially, ready to be instructed. 

Mr. President : When the mariner has been tossed for 
many days in thick weather and on an unknown sea, he 
naturally avails himself of the first pause in the storm, the 
earliest glance of the sun, to take his latitude and ascertain 
how far the elements have driven him from his true course. 
Let us imitate this prudence; and, before we float farther on 
the waves of this debate, refer to the point from which we 
departed, that we may, at least, be able to conjecture where 
we now are. I ask for the reading of the resolution before 
the Senate. Daniel Webster: Reply to Hayne, 1830 

Linking the Introduction to Preceding Speeches. 
So many speeches are replies to preceding addresses 
that many introductions adapt themselves to their 
audiences by touching upon such utterances. In de- 
bates, in pleas in court, in deliberative assemblies, 
this is more usually the circumstance than not. The 
following illustrates how courteously this may be done, 
even when it serves merely to make all the clearer 
the present speaker's position. In moments of tensest 
feeling great speakers skilfully move from any one 
position or attitude to another as Patrick Henry did. 



BEGINNING THE SPEECH 85 

While you are regarding these paragraphs as an 
example of introduction do not overlook their vocabu- 
lary and sentences. 

Mr. President: No man thinks more highly than I do of 
the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentle- 
men who have just addressed the house. But different men 
often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, 
I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentle- 
men, if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very 
opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely, 
and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The 
question before the house is one of awful moment to the 
country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less 
than a question of freedom or slavery. And in proportion 
to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of 
the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to 
arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which 
we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my 
opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I 
should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my 
country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty 
of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly things. 

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the 
illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a 
painful truth, and listen to the song of that Siren till she 
transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, en- 
gaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we 
disposed to be of the number of those who having eyes see 
not, and having ears hear not, the things which so nearly 
concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever 
anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole 
truth; to know the worst and to provide for it. 

Patrick Henry in the Virginia Convention, 1775 



86 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Difficulties of Introductions. People who are sched- 
uled to make speeches are heard to declare that they 
know exactly what they want to say but they do not 
know how to begin. Another way they have of ex- 
pressing this is that they do not know how to bring 
their material before their hearers. Undoubtedly 
the most difficult parts of speeches are the beginnings 
and conclusions. In Chapter II one of the methods 
of preparing for delivery recognized this difference 
by recording that one way is to memorize the be- 
ginning and ending, the opening and closing sen- 
tences. Practised speakers are more likely not to 
fix too rigidly in their minds any set way for starting 
to speak. They realize that a too carefully pre- 
pared opening will smack of the study. The con- 
ditions under which the speech is actually delivered 
may differ so widely from the anticipated surround- 
ings that a speaker should be able to readjust his 
ideas instantly, seize upon any detail of feeling, remark, 
action, which will help him into closer communication 
with his audience. Many practised speakers, there- 
fore, have at their wits' ends a dozen different man- 
ners, so that their appearance may fit in best with 
the circumstances, and their remarks have that air 
of easy spontaneity which the best speaking should 
have. Thus, sometimes, the exactly opposite advice 
of the method described above and in Chapter II is 
given. A speaker will prepare carefully his speech 
proper, but leave to circumstances the suggestion 
of the beginning he will use. This does not mean 
that he will not be prepared — it means that he will 
be all the more richly furnished with expedients. A 



BEGINNING THE SPEECH 87 

speaker should carefully think over all the possibilities 
under which his speech will be brought forward, then 
prepare the best introduction to suit each set. 

Spirit of the Introduction. The combination of 
circumstances and material will determine what we 
shall call the spirit of the introduction. In what 
spirit is the introduction treated? There are as 
many different treatments as there are human feelings 
and sentiments. The spirit may be serious, informa- 
tive, dignified, scoffing, argumentative, conversational, 
startling, humorous, ironic. The student should 
lengthen this list by adding as many other adjectives 
as he can. 

The serious treatment is always effective when it 
is suitable. There is a conviction of earnestness and 
sincerity about the speech of a man who takes his 
subject seriously. Without arousing opposition by 
too great a claim of importance for his topic he does 
impress its significance upon listeners. This serious- 
ness must be justified by the occasion. It must not 
be an attempt to bolster up weakness of ideas or com- 
monplaceness of expression. It must be straight- 
forward, manly, womanly. Notice the excellent effect 
of the following which illustrates this kind of treat- 
ment. 

May it please your Honor: I was desired by one of 
the court to look into the books, and consider the question 
now before them concerning Writs of Assistance. I have 
accordingly considered it, and appear not only in obedience 
to your order, but likewise in behalf of the inhabitants of this 
town, who have presented another petition, and out of regard 
to the liberties of the subject. And I take this opportunity 



88 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

to declare, that whether under a fee or not (for in such a 
cause as this I despise a fee) I will to my dying day oppose 
with all the powers and faculties God has given me, all such 
instruments of slavery on the one hand and villainy on the 
other, as this Writ of Assistance is. 

It appears to me the worst instrument of arbitrary power, 
the most destructive of English liberty and the fundamental 
principles of law, that ever was found in an English law- 
book. 

James Otis: On Writs of Assistance, 1761 

Informative and argumentative introductions are 
quite usual. They abound in legislative bodies, busi- 
ness organizations, and courts of law. Having definite 
purposes to attain they move forward as directly and 
clearly as they can. In such appearances a speaker 
should know how to lead to his topic quickly, clearly, 
convincingly. Introductions should be reduced to 
a minimum because time is valuable. Ideas count; 
mere talk is worthless. 

Attempts at humorous speeches are only too often 
the saddest exhibitions of life. The mere recital of 
" funny stories " in succession is in no sense speech- 
making, although hundreds of misguided individuals 
act as though they think so. Nor is a good intro- 
duction the one that begins with a comic incident 
supposedly with a point pat to the occasion or topic, 
yet so often miles wide of both. The funny story 
which misses its mark is a boomerang. Even the 
apparently " sure-fire " one may deliver a disturbing 
kick to its perpetrator. The grave danger is the 
" o'er done or come tardy off " of Hamlet's advice 
to the players. Humor must be distinctly marked 



BEGINNING THE SPEECH 89 

off from the merely comic or witty, and clearly rec- 
ognized as a wonderful gift bestowed on not too many 
mortals in this world. The scoffing, ironic intro- 
duction may depend upon wit and cleverness born in 
the head; the humorous introduction depends upon 
a sympathetic instinct treasured in the heart. Look 
back at the remarks made by Beecher to his turbulent 
disturbers in Liverpool. Did he help his cause by 
his genial appreciation of their sentiments? 

The student should study several introductions to 
speeches in the light of all the preceding discussions 
so that he may be able to prepare his own and judge 
them intelligently. Printed speeches will provide 
material for study, but better still are delivered re- 
marks. If the student can hear the speech, then 
see it in print, so much the better, for he can then 
recall the effect in sound of the phrases. 

Preparing and Delivering Introductions. Actual 
practice in preparation and delivery of introductions 
should follow. These should be delivered before the 
class and should proceed no farther than the adequate 
introduction to the hearers of the topic of the speech. 
They need not be so fragmentary as to occupy only 
three seconds. By supposing them to be begin- 
nings of speeches from six to fifteen minutes long 
these remarks may easily last from one to two 
minutes. 

Aside from the method of its delivery — pose, 
voice, speed, vocabulary, sentences — each introduc- 
tion should be judged as an actual introduction to a 
real speech. Each speaker should keep in mind 
these questions to apply during his preparation. Each 



90 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

listener should apply them as he hears the introduction 
delivered. 

Is the topic introduced gracefully? 

Is it introduced clearly? 

Is the introduction too long? 

Does it begin too far away from the topic? 

Is it interesting? 

Has it any defects of material? 

Has it any faults of manner? 

Can any of it be omitted? 

Do you want to hear the entire speech? 

Can you anticipate the material? 

Is it adapted to its audience? 

Is it above their heads? 

Is it beneath their intelligences? 
Topics for these exercises in delivering introductions 
should be furnished by the interests, opinions, ideas, 
experiences, ambitions of the students themselves. 
Too many beginning speakers cause endless worry 
for themselves, lower the quality of their speeches, 
bore their listeners, by " hunting " for things to talk 
about, when near at hand in themselves and their 
activities lie the very best things to discuss. The 
over-modest feeling some people have that they know 
nothing to talk about is usually a false impression. 
In Elizabethan England a young poet, Sir Phillip 
Sidney, decided to try to tell his sweetheart how much 
he loved her. So he " sought fit words, studying 
inventions fine, turning others' leaves, to see if thence 
would flow, some fresh and fruitful showers upon 
my sunburnt brain." But " words came halting 
forth " until he bit his truant pen and almost beat 



BEGINNING THE SPEECH 91 

himself for spite. Then said the Muse to him, " Fool, 
look in thy heart and write." And without that 
first word, this is the advice that should be given to 
all speakers. " Look in your heart, mind, life, ex- 
periences, ideas, ideals, interests, enthusiasms, and 
from them draw the material of your speeches — ■ 
yours because no one else could make that speech, 
so essentially and peculiarly is it your own." 

The following may serve as suggestions of the 
kind of topic to choose and the various methods of 
approaching it. They are merely hints, for each 
student must adapt his own method and material. 

EXERCISES 

1. By a rapid historical survey introduce the discussion 
that women will be allowed to vote in the United States. 

2. By a historical survey introduce the topic that war 
will cease upon the earth. 

3. Using the same method introduce the opposite. 

4. Using some history introduce the topic that equality 
for all men is approaching. 

5. Using the same method introduce the opposite. 

6. Starting with the amount used introduce an explana- 
tion of the manufacture of cotton goods. Any other manu- 
factured article may be used. 

7. Starting with an incident to illustrate its novelty, or 
speed, or convenience, or unusualness, lead up to the descrip- 
tion or explanation of some mechanical contrivance. 

Dictaphone Knitting machine 

Adding machine Moving picture camera 

Comptometer Moving picture machine 

Wireless telegraph Self-starter 



92 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Egg boiler Newspaper printing press 

Power churn Bottle-making machine 

Voting machine Storm in a play 

Pneumatic tube Periscope, etc. 

8. Describe some finished product (as a cup of tea, a 
copper cent) as introduction to an explanation of its various 
processes of development. 

9. Start with the opinion that reading should produce 
pleasure to introduce a recommendation of a book. 

10. Start with the opinion that reading should impart 
information to introduce a recommendation of a book. 

11. Start with the money return a business or profession 
offers to introduce a discussion advising a person to follow it 
or not. 

12. Beginning with the recent war lead up to the topic 
that military training shoul d be a part of all regular education. 

13. Beginning from the same point introduce the opposite. 

14. Beginning with an item — or a fictitious item — from 
a newspaper recounting an accident lead up to workmen's 
compensation laws, or preventive protective measures in 
factories, or some similar topic. 

15. Using a personal or known experience introduce some 
topic dealing with the survival of superstitions. 

16. Choosing your own material and treatment introduce 
some theme related to the government, or betterment of your 
community. 

17. Introduce a topic dealing with the future policy of 
your city, county, state, or nation. 

18. Lead up to the statement of a change you would like 
to recommend strongly for your school. 

19. In as interesting a manner as possible lead up to a 
statement of the business or profession you would like to 
follow. 

20. Introduce a speech in which you intend to condemn 



BEGINNING THE SPEECH 93 

something, by dealing with your introductory material 
ironically. 

21. Imagine that you are presiding at a meeting of some 
club, society, or organization which has been called to discuss 
a definite topic. Choose the topic for discussion and deliver 
the speech bringing it before the session. 

22. You have received a letter from a member of some 
organization who suggests that a society to which you belong 
join with it in some kind of contest or undertaking. Present 
the suggestion to your society. 

23. You believe that some memorial to the memory of 
some person should be established in your school, lodge, 
church, club. Introduce the subject to a group of members 
so that they may discuss it intelligently. 

24. Introduce some topic to the class, but so phrase your 
material that the announcement of the topic will be a com- 
plete surprise to the members. Try to lead them away from 
the topic, yet so word your remarks that later they will 
realize that everything you said applies exactly to the topic 
you introduce. 

25. Lead up to the recital of some mystery, or ghostly 
adventure. 

26. Lead up to these facts. " For each 10,000 American- 
born workmen in a steel plant in eight years, 21 were killed; 
and for each non-English speaking foreign born, 26 were 
killed. Non-English speaking show 65 permanently dis- 
abled as compared with 28 who spoke English. Of tem- 
porarily disabled only 856 spoke English as compared with 
2035 who did not." 

27. Introduce the topic: Training in public speaking is 
valuable for all men and women. 

28. In a genial manner suitable to the season's feelings 
introduce some statement concerning New Year's resolutions. 

29. Frame some statement concerning aviation. Intro- 
duce it. 



94 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

30. Introduce topics or statements related to the following : 

The eight-hour day. 

The principles of Socialism. 

Legitimate methods of conducting strikes. 

Extending the Monroe Doctrine. 

Studying the classics, or modern languages. 

Private fortunes. 

College education for girls. 

Direct presidential vote. 

A good magazine. 

Some great woman. 

Sensible amusements. 

Fashions. 

Agriculture. 

Business practice. 

Minimum wages. 

Equal pay for men and women. 






CHAPTER V 
CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 

Preparing the Conclusion. No architect would 
attempt to plan a building unless he knew the pur- 
pose for which it was to be used. No writer of a story 
would start to put down words until he knew exactly 
how his story was to end. He must plan to bring 
about a certain conclusion. The hero and heroine 
must be united in marriage. The scheming villain 
must be brought to justice. Or if he scorn the usual 
ending of the " lived happily ever after " kind of 
fiction, he can plan to kill his hero and heroine, or 
both; or he can decide for once that his story shall 
be more like real life than is usually the case, and have 
wickedness triumph over virtue. Whatever he elects 
to do at the conclusion of his story, whether it be 
long or short, the principle of his planning is the 
same — he must know what he is going to do and 
adequately prepare for it during the course of previous 
events. 

One other thing every writer must secure. The 
ending of a book must be the most interesting part of 
it. It must rise highest in interest. It must be 
surest of appeal. Otherwise the author runs the 
risk of not having people read his book through to 
its conclusion, and as every book is written in the hope 
and expectation that it will be read through, a book 

95 



96 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

which fails to hold the attention of its readers defeats 
its own purpose. 

The foregoing statements are self-evident but they 
are set down because their underlying principles can 
be transferred to a consideration of the preparation 
of conclusions for speeches. 

Is a Conclusion Necessary? But before we use them 
let us ask whether all speeches require conclusions. 

There are some people — thoughtless, if nothing 
worse — who habitually end letters by adding some 
such expression as " Having nothing more to say, 
I shall now close." Is there any sense in writing such 
a sentence? If the letter comes only so far and the 
signature follows, do not those items indicate that 
the writer has nothing more to say and is actually 
closing? Why then, when a speaker has said all he 
has to say, should he not simply stop and sit down? 
Will that not indicate quite clearly that he has finished 
his speech? What effect would such an ending have? 

In the first place the speaker runs the risk of ap- 
pearing at least discourteous, if not actually rude, 
to his audience. To fling his material at them, then 
to leave it so, would impress men and women much 
as the brusque exit from a group of people in a room 
would or the slamming of a door of an office. 

In the second place the speaker runs the graver 
risk of not making clear and emphatic the purpose 
of his speech. He may have been quite plain and 
effective during the course of his explanation or argu- 
ment but an audience hears a speech only once. Can 
he trust to their recollection of what he has tried to 
impress upon them? Will they carry away exactly 



CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 97 

what he wants them to retain? Has he made the 
main topics, the chief aim, stand out prominently 
enough? Can he merely stop speaking? These are 
quite important aspects of a grave responsibility. 

In the third place — though this may be considered 
less important than the preceding — the speaker gives 
the impression that he has not actually " finished " 
his speech. No one cares for unfinished articles, 
whether they be dishes of food, pieces of furniture, 
poems, or speeches. Without unduly stressing the 
fact that a speech is a carefully organized and con- 
structed product, it may be stated that it is always 
a profitable effort to try to round off your remarks. 
A good conclusion gives an impression of complete- 
ness, of an effective product. Audiences are delicately 
susceptible to these impressions. 

Twenty-two centuries ago Aristotle, in criticizing 
Greek oratory, declared that the first purpose of the 
conclusion was to conciliate the audience in favor of 
the speaker. As human nature has not changed 
much in the ages since, the statement still holds true. 

Speakers, then, should provide conclusions for all 
their speeches. 

Although the entire matter of planning the speech 
belongs to a later chapter some facts concerning it as 
they relate to the conclusion must be set down here. 

Relation of the Conclusion to the Speech. The 
conclusion should reflect the purpose of the speech. 
It should enforce the reason for the delivery of the 
speech. As it emphasizes the purpose of the speech 
it should be in the speaker's mind before he begins 
to plan the development of his remarks. It should 



98 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

be kept constantly in his mind as he delivers his ma- 
terial. A train from Chicago bound for New York 
is not allowed to turn off on all the switches it meets 
in its journey. A speaker who wants to secure from 
a jury a verdict for damages from a traction company 
does not discuss presidential candidates. He works 
towards his conclusion. A legislator who wants votes 
to pass a bill makes his conclusion and his speech 
conform to that purpose. In all likelihood, his con- 
clusion plainly asks for the votes he has been proving 
that his fellow legislators should cast. A school 
principal pleading with boys to stop gambling knows 
that his conclusion is going to be a call for a showing 
of hands to pledge support of his recommendations. 
A labor agitator knows that his conclusion is going 
to be an appeal to a sense of class prejudice, so he 
speaks with that continually in mind. An efficiency 
expert in shop management knows that his conclusion 
is going to enforce the saving in damages for injury 
by accident if a scheme of safety devices be installed, 
so he speaks with that conclusion constantly in his 
mind. In court the prosecuting attorney tells in 
his introduction exactly what he intends to prove. 
His conclusion shows that he has proved what he 
announced. 

, One is tempted to say that the test of a good speech, 
a well-prepared speech, is its conclusion. How many 
times one hears a speaker floundering along trying 
to do something, rambling about, making no im- 
pression, not advancing a pace, and then later receives 
from the unfortunate the confession, " I wanted to 
stop but I didn't know how to do it." No conclusion 



CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 99 

had been prepared beforehand. It is quite as dis- 
turbing to hear a speaker pass beyond the place where 
he could have made a good conclusion. If he realizes 
this he slips into the state of the first speaker de- 
scribed in this paragraph. If he does not realize 
when he reaches a good conclusion he talks too long 
and weakens the effect by stopping on a lower plane 
than he has already reached. This fault corresponds 
to the story teller whose book drops in interest at the 
end. The son of a minister was asked whether his 
father's sermon the previous Sunday had not had 
some good points in it. The boy replied, " Yes, 
three good points where he should have stopped." 

Length of the Conclusion. It must not be inferred 
from anything here stated concerning the importance 
of the conclusion that it need be long. A good rule 
for the length of the conclusion is the same rule that 
applies to the length of the introduction. It should 
be just long enough to do best what it is intended to 
do. As m the case of the introduction, so for the 
conclusion, the shorter the better, if consistent with 
clearness and effect. If either introduction or con- 
clusion must deliberately be reduced the conclusion 
will stand the most compression. A conclusion will 
frequently fail of its effect if it is so long that the 
audience anticipates its main points. It fails if it is 
so long that it adds nothing of clearness or emphasis 
to the speech itself. It will end by boring if it is too 
long for the importance of its material. It will often 
produce a deeper, more lasting impression by its very 
conciseness. Brevity is the soul of more than mere 
humor. A brief remark will cut deeper than a long 



100 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

involved sentence. The speaker who had shown that 
the recent great war fails unless the reconstruction 
to be accomplished is worthy needed no more involved 
conclusion than the statement, "It is what we do to- 
morrow that will justify what we did yesterday." 

Coupled with this matter of effect is the length of 
the speech itself. Short speeches are likely to require 
only short conclusions. Long speeches more naturally 
require longer conclusions. 

Consider the following conclusions. Comment upon 
them. It would be interesting to try to decide the 
length of the speeches from which they are taken, 
then look at the originals, all of which are easily pro- 
curable at libraries. 

That is in substance my theory of what our foreign policy 
should be. Let us not boast, not insult any one, but make 
up our minds coolly what it is necesary to say, say it, and 
then stand to it, whatever the consequences may be. 

Theodore Roosevelt at Waukesha, 1903 

The foregoing is quite matter-of-fact. It contains 
no emotional appeal at all. Yet even a strong emo- 
tional feeling can be put into a short conclusion. From 
the date and the circumstances surrounding the next 
the reader can easily picture for himself the intense 
emotion of the audience which listened to these words 
from the leader of the free states against the South. 

Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusa- 
tions against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of de- 
struction to the government, nor of dungeons to ourselves. 
Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith 
let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it. 
Abraham Lincoln: Cooper Union Speech, 1860 



CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 101 

While the student planning his own speech must 
determine exactly what he shall put into his conclusion 
— depending always upon his material and his pur- 
pose — there are a few general hints which will help 
him. 

The Retrospective ^Conclusion. A conclusion may 
be entirely retrospective. This means merely that 
it may refer back to the remarks which have been 
delivered in the body of the speech. A speaker does 
this to emphasize something he has already discussed 
by pointing out to his audience that he wants them 
to remember that from what he has said. Con- 
clusions of this kind usually have no emotional ap- 
peal. They are likely to be found in explanatory 
addresses, where the clearness of the exposition should 
make hearers accept it as true. If a man has proven 
a fact — as in a law court — he does not have to make 
an appeal to feeling to secure a verdict. Juries are 
supposed to decide on the facts alone. This kind of 
conclusion emphasizes, repeats, clarifies, enforces. The 
first of the following is a good illustration of one 
kind of conclusion which refers to the remarks 
made in the speech proper. Notice that it enforces 
the speaker's opinions by a calm explanation of his 
sincerity. 

I want you to think of what I have said, because it repre- 
sents all of the sincerity and earnestness that I have, and I 
say to you here, from this platform, nothing that I have not 
already stated in effect, and nothing I would not say at a 
private table with any of the biggest corporation managers 
in the land. 

Theodore Roosevelt at Fitehburg, 1902 



102 PUBLIC SPEAKING 



The next, while it is exactly the same kind in ma- 
terial, adds some elements of stronger feeling. Yet 
in the main it also enforces the speaker's opinion by a 
clear explanation of his action. From this conclusion 
alone we know exactly the material and purpose of 
the entire speech. 

Sir, I will detain you no longer. There are some parts of 
this bill which I highly approve; there are others in which 
I should acquiesce; but those to which I have now stated 
my objections appear to me so destitute of all justice, so 
burdensome and so dangerous to that interest which has 
steadily enriched, gallantly defended, and proudly dis- 
tinguished us, that nothing can prevail upon me to give it my 
support. 

Daniel Webster: The Tariff, 1824 

The Anticipatory Conclusion. Just as a conclusion 
may be retrospective, so it may be anticipatory. It 
may start from the position defined or explained or 
reached by the speech and look forward to what may 
happen, what must be done, what should be insti- 
tuted, what should be changed, what votes should 
be cast, what punishment should be inflicted, what 
pardons granted. The student should make a list 
of all possible things in the future which could be 
anticipated in the conclusions of various speeches. 
If one will think of the purposes of most delivered 
speeches he will realize that this kind of conclusion 
is much more frequent than the previous kind as so 
many speeches anticipate future action or events. 
Dealing with entirely different topics the three fol- 
lowing extracts illustrate this kind of conclusion. 



* 



CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 103 

Washington was arguing against the formation of 
parties in the new nation, trying to avert the inevitable. 

There is an opinion that parties in free countries are 
useful checks upon the administration of the government, 
and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This within 
certain limits is probably true; and in governments of a 
monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence if 
not with favor upon the spirit of party. But in those of the 
popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a 
spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency 
it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for 
every salutary purpose. And there being constant danger 
of excess, the effort ought to be by force of public opinion to 
mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it de- 
mands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a 
flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume. 

George Washington: Farewell Address, 1796 

With the dignity and the calmness of the preceding, 
contrast the Biblical fervor of the next — the mag- 
nanimous program of the reuniter of a divided people. 

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firm- 
ness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive 
on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's 
wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, 
and for his widow and his orphan — to do all which may 
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, 
and with all nations. 

Abraham Lincoln: Second Inaugural, 1865 

In totally different circumstances the next conclusion 
was delivered, yet it bears the same aspect of an- 
ticipation. There is not a single hint in it of the 
material of the speech which preceded it, it takes no 



104 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

glance backward, it looks forward only. Its ef- 
fectiveness comes from the element of leadership, that 
gesture of pointing the way for loyal Americans to 
follow. 

No nation as great as ours can expect to escape the penalty 
of greatness, for greatness does not come without trouble 
and labor. There are problems ahead of us at home and 
problems abroad, because such problems are incident to the 
working out of a great national career. We do not shrink 
from them. Scant is our patience with those who preach 
the gospel of craven weakness. No nation under the sun 
ever yet played a part worth playing if it feared its fate over- 
much — if it did not have the courage to be great. We of 
America, we, the sons of a nation yet in the pride of its 
lusty youth, spurn the teachings of distrust, spurn the creed 
of failure and despair. We know that the future is ours 
if we have in us the manhood to grasp it, and we enter the 
new century girding our loins for the contest before us, rejoic- 
ing in the struggle, and resolute so to bear ourselves that 
the nation's future shall even surpass her glorious past. 
Theodore Roosevelt at Philadelphia, 1902 

Grave times always make men look into the future. 
All acts are judged and justified after they are per- 
formed. All progress depends upon this straining 
the vision into the darkness of the yet-to-be. Upon 
the eve of great struggles anticipation is always upper- 
most in men's minds. In the midst of the strife it 
is man's hope. In the next extract, only one sentence 
glances backward. 

For us there is but one choice. We have made it. Woe 
be to the man or group of men that seeks to stand in our way 
in this day of high resolution when every principle we hold 



CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 105 

dearest is to be vindicated and made secure for the salvation 
of the nations. We are ready to plead at the bar of history, 
and our flag shall wear a new luster. Once more we shall 
make good with our lives and fortunes the great faith to 
which we were born, and a new glory shall shine in the face 
of our people. 

Woodrow Wilson: Flag Day Address, 1917 

Retrospective and Anticipatory Conclusion. While 
it does not occur so frequently as the two kinds just 
illustrated it is possible for a conclusion to be both 
retrospective and anticipatory — to look both back- 
ward and forward. The conclusion may enforce what 
the speech has declared or proved, then using this 
position as a safe starting point for a new departure, 
look forward and indicate what may follow or what 
should be done. The only danger in such an attempt 
is that the dual aspect may be difficult to make effect- 
ive. Either one may neutralize the other. Still, a 
careful thinker and master of clear language may be 
able to carry an audience with him in such a treat- 
ment. The division in the conclusion between the 
backward glance and the forward vision need not be 
equal. Here again the effect to be made upon the 
audience, the purpose of the speech, must be the de- 
termining factor. Notice how the two are blended 
in the following conclusion from a much read com- 
memorative oration. 

And now, friends and fellow-citizens, it is time to bring 
this discourse to a close. 

We have indulged in gratifying recollections of the past, 
in the prosperity and pleasures of the present, and in high 
hopes for the future. But let us remember that we have 



106 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

duties and obligations to perform, corresponding to the 
blessings which we enjoy. Let us remember the trust, the 
sacred trust, attaching to the rich inheritance which we have 
received from our fathers. Let us feel our personal respon- 
sibility, to the full extent of our power and influence, for 
the preservation of the principles of civil and religious 
liberty. And let us remember that it is only religion, and 
morals, and knowledge, that can make men respectable, 
under any form of government. . . . 

Daniel Webster: Completion of Bunker Hill Monument, 1843 

Conclusions are classified in general under three 
headings: 1. Recapitulation; 2. Summary; 3. Per- 
oration. 

The Recapitulation. The first of these — recap- 
itulation — is exactly defined by the etymology of 
the word itself. Its root is Latin caput, head. So 
recapitulation means the repetition of the heads or 
main topics of a preceding discussion. Coming at 
the end of an important speech of some length, such a 
conclusion is invaluable. If the speaker has explained 
clearly or reasoned convincingly his audience will 
have been enlightened or convinced. Then at the 
end, to assure them they are justified in their knowledge 
or conviction, he repeats in easily remembered sequence 
the heads which he has treated in his extended remarks. 
It is as though he chose from his large assortment a 
small package which he does up neatly for his audience 
to carry away with them. Frequently, too, the re- 
capitulation corresponds exactly to the plan as an- 
nounced in the introduction and followed throughout 
the speech. This firmly impresses the main points 
upon the brains of the hearers. 



CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 107 

A lawyer in court starts by announcing that he will 
prove a certain number of facts. After his plea is 
finished, in the conclusion of his speech, he recapitulates, 
showing that he has proved these things. A minister, 
a political candidate, a business man, a social worker 
— in fact, every speaker will find such a clear-cut 
listing an informative, convincing manner of con- 
structing a conclusion. This extract shows a clear, 
direct, simple recapitulation. 

To recapitulate what has been said, we maintain, first, 
that the Constitution, by its grants to Congress and its pro- 
hibitions on the states, has sought to establish one uniform 
standard of value, or medium of payment. Second, that, 
by like means, it has endeavored to provide for one uniform 
mode of discharging debts, when they are to be discharged 
without payment. Third, that these objects are connected, 
and that the first loses much of its importance, if the last, 
also, be not accomplished. Fourth, that, reading the grant 
to Congress and the prohibition on the States together, the 
inference is strong that the Constitution intended to confer 
an exclusive power to pass bankrupt laws on Congress. 
Fifth, that the prohibition in the tenth section reaches to 
all contracts, existing or future, in the same way that the 
other prohibition, in the same section, extends to all debts, 
existing or future. Sixth, that, upon any other construction, 
one great political object of the Constitution will fail of its 
accomplish ment . 

Daniel Webster: Ogden vs. Saunders, 1827 

The Summary. The second kind — a summary — 
does somewhat the same thing that the recapitulation 
does, but it effects it in a different matter. Note that 
the recapitulation repeats the main headings of the 
speech; it usually uses the same or similar phrasing. 



108 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

The summary does not do this. The summary con- 
denses the entire material of the speech, so that it is 
presented to the audience in shortened, general state- 
ments, sufficient to recall to them what the speaker 
has already presented, without actually repeating his 
previous statements. This kind of conclusion is 
perhaps more usual than the preceding one. It is 
known by a variety of terms — summing up, resume, 
epitome, review, precis, condensation. 

In the first of the subjoined illustrations notice 
that the words " possible modes " contain practically 
all the speech itself. So the four words at the end, 
" faction, corruption, anarchy, and despotism," hold 
a great deal of the latter part of the speech. These 
expressions do not repeat the heads of divisions; they 
condense long passages. The extract is a summary. 

I have thus presented all possible modes in which a govern- 
ment founded upon the will of an absolute majority will be 
modified; and have demonstrated that, in all its forms, 
whether in a majority of the people, as in a mere democracy, 
or in a majority of their representatives, without a con- 
stitution, to be interpreted as the will of the majority, the 
result will be the same: two hostile interests will inevitably 
be created by the action of the government, to be followed 
by hostile legislation, and that by faction, corruption, 
anarchy, and despotism. 

John C. Calhoun: Speech on the Force Bill, 1833 

From the following pick out the expressions which 
summarize long passages of the preceding speech. 
Amplify them to indicate what they might cover. 

I firmly believe in my countrymen, and therefore I believe 
that the chief thing necessary in order that they shall work 



CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 109 

together is that they shall know one another — that the 
Northerner shall know the Southerner, and the man of one 
occupation know the man of another occupation; the man 
who works in one walk of life know the man who works in 
another walk of life, so that we may realize that the things 
which divide us are superficial, are unimportant, and that 
we are, and must ever be, knit together into one indissoluble 
mass by our common American brotherhood. 

Theodore Roosevelt at Chattanooga, 1902 

The Peroration. A peroration is a conclusion 
which — whatever may be its material and treat- 
ment — has an appeal to the feelings, to the emotions. 
It strives to move the audience to act, to arouse them 
to an expression of their wills, to stir them to deeds. 
It usually comes at the end of a speech of persuasion. 
It appeals to sentiments of right, justice, humanity, 
religion. It seldom merely concludes a speech; it 
looks forward to some such definite action as casting 
a vote, joining an organization or movement, con- 
tributing money, going out on strike, returning to 
work, pledging support, signing a petition. 

These purposes suggest its material. It is usually 
a direct appeal, personal and collective, to all the 
hearers. Intense in feeling, tinged with emotion, it 
justifies itself by its sincerity and honesty alone. Its 
apparent success is not the measure of its merit. Too 
frequently an appeal to low prejudices, class sentiment 
and prejudice, base motives, mob instincts will carry a 
group of people in a certain direction with as little sense 
and reason as a flock of sheep display. Every student 
can cite a dozen instances of such unwarranted and 
unworthy responses to skilful perverted perorations. 



110 PUBLIC SPEAKING 



Answering to its emotional tone the style of a per- 
oration is likely to rise above the usual, to become less 
simple, less direct. In this temptation for the speaker 
lies a second danger quite as grave as the one just 
indicated. In an attempt to wax eloquent he is likely 
to become grandiloquent, bombastic, ridiculous. Many 
an experienced speaker makes an unworthy exhibition 
of himself under such circumstances. One specimen 
of such nonsense will serve as a warning. 

When the terms for the use of the Panama Canal 
were drawn up there arose a discussion as to certain 
kinds of ships which might pass through the canal 
free of tolls. A treaty with Great Britain prevented 
tolls-exemption for privately owned vessels. In a 
speech in Congress upon this topic one member de- 
livered the following inflated and inconsequential 
peroration. Can any one with any sanity see any 
connection of the Revolutionary War, Jefferson, 
Valley Forge, with a plain understanding of such a 
business matter as charging tolls for the use of a water- 
way? To get the full effect of this piece of " stupen- 
dous folly " — to quote the speaker's own words — 
the student should declaim it aloud with as much 
attempt at oratorical effect as its author expended 
upon it. 

Now, may the God of our fathers, who nerved 3,000,000 
backwoods Americans to fling their gage of battle into the 
face of the mightiest monarch in the world, who guided the 
hand of Jefferson in writing the charter of liberty, who sus- 
tained Washington and his ragged and starving army amid 
the awful horrors of Valley Forge, and who gave them com- 
plete victory on the blood-stained heights of Yorktown, may 



CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 111 

He lead members to vote so as to prevent this stupendous folly 
— this unspeakable humiliation of the American republic. 

When the circumstances are grave enough to justify 
impassioned language a good speaker need not fear 
its effect. If it be suitable, honest, and sincere, a 
peroration may be as emotional as human feelings 
dictate. So-called " flowery language " seldom is the 
medium of deep feeling. The strongest emotions 
may be expressed in the simplest terms. Notice how, 
in the three extracts here quoted, the feeling is more 
intense in each succeeding one. Analyze the style. 
Consider the words, the phrases, the sentences in 
length and structure. Explain the close relation of 
the circumstances and the speaker with the material 
and the style What was the purpose of each? 

Sir, let it be to the honor of Congress that in these days 
of political strife and controversy, we have laid aside for once 
the sin that most easily besets us, and, with unanimity of coun- 
sel, and with singleness of heart and of purpose, have accom- 
plished for our country one measure of unquestionable good. 
Daniel Webster: Uniform System of Bankruptcy, 1840 

Lord Chatham addressed the House of Lords in 
protest against the inhumanities of some of the early 
British efforts to suppress the American Revolution. 

I call upon that right reverend bench, those holy ministers 
of the Gospel, and pious pastors of our Church — I conjure 
them to join in the holy work, and vindicate the religion of 
their God. I appeal to the wisdom and law of this learned 
bench, to defend and support the justice of their country. 
I call upon the Bishops to interpose the unsullied sanctity 
of their lawn; upon the learned Judges, to interpose their 
purity upon the honor of your Lordships, to reverence the 



112 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

dignity of your ancestors and to maintain your own. I call 
upon the spirit and humanity of my country, to vindicate the 
national character. I invoke the genius of the Constitution. 
From the tapestry that adorns these walls the immortal 
ancestor of this noble Lord frowns with indignation at the 
disgrace of his country. . . . 

I again call upon your Lordships, and the united powers 
of the state, to examine it thoroughly and decisively, and 
to stamp upon it an indelible stigma of the public abhorrence. 
And I again implore those holy prelates of our religion to do 
away with these iniquities from among us! Let them perform 
a lustration; let them purify this House, and this country, 
from this sin. 

My Lords, I am old and weak, and at present unable to say 
more; but my feelings and indignation were too strong to 
have said less. I could not have slept this night in my bed, 
nor reposed my head on my pillow, without giving vent to 
my eternal abhorrence of such preposterous and enormous 
principles. 

At about the same time the same circumstances 
evoked several famous speeches, one of which ended 
with this well-known peroration. 

It is in vain, Sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen 
may cry, Peace, Peace — but there is no peace. The war 
is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the North 
will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our 
brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? 
What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? 
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the 
price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I 
know not what course others may take; but as for me, give 
me liberty or give me death! 

Patrick Henry in the Virginia Convention, 1775 



CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 113 

Preparing and Delivering Conclusions. Students 
cannot very well be asked to prepare and deliver 
conclusions to speeches which do not yet exist, so there 
is no way of devising conclusions until later. But 
students should report upon conclusions to speeches 
they have recently listened to, and explain to the 
class their opinions concerning their material, meth- 
ods, treatment, delivery, effect. The following ques- 
tions will help in judging and criticizing: 

Was the conclusion too long? 

Was it so short as to seem abrupt? 

Did it impress the audience? 

How could it have been improved? 

Was it recapitulation, summary, peroration? 

Was it retrospective, anticipatory, or both? 

What was its relation to the main part of the 
speech? 

Did it refer to the entire speech or only a portion? 

What was its relation to the introduction? 

Did the speech end where it began? 

Did it end as it began? 

Was the conclusion in bad taste? 

What was its style? 

What merits had it? 

What defects? 

What suggestions could you offer for its improvement ? 

With reference to the earlier parts of the speech, how 
was it delivered? 

The following conclusions should be studied from 
all the angles suggested in this chapter and previous 
ones. An air of reality will be secured if they are mem- 
orized and spoken before the class. 



114 PUBLIC SPEAKING 



EXERCISES 



1. There are many qualities which we need alike in 
private citizen and in public man, but three above all — 
three for the lack of which no brilliancy and no genius can 
atone — and those three are courage, honesty, and common 
sense. Theodore Roosevelt at Antietam, 1903 

2. Poor Sprat has perished despite his splendid tomb 
in the Abbey. Johnson has only a cracked stone and a 
worn-out inscription (for the Hercules in St. Paul's is un- 
recognizable) but he dwells where he would wish to dwell — 
in the loving memory of men. 

Augustine Birrell: Transmission of Dr. Johnson s Personality, 1884 

3. So, my fellow citizens, the reason I came away from 
Washington is that I sometimes get lonely down there. 
There are so many people in Washington who know things 
that are not so, and there are so few people who know any- 
thing about what the people of the United States are thinking 
about. I have to come away and get reminded of the rest 
of the country. I have to come away and talk to men who 
are up against the real thing and say to them, " I am with 
you if you are with me." And the only test of being with 
me is not to think about me personally at all, but merely 
to think of me as the expression for the time being of the 
power and dignity and hope of the United States. 

Woodrow Wilson: Speech to the American Federation of Labor, 1917 

4. But if, Sir Henry, in gratitude for this beautiful 
tribute which I have just paid you, you should feel tempted 
to reciprocate by taking my horses from my carriage and 
dragging me in triumph through the streets, I beg that you 
will restrain yourself for two reasons. The first reason is — 
I have no horses; the second is — I have no carriage. 

Simeon Ford: Me and Sir Henry (Irving), 1899 



CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 115 

5. Literature has its permanent marks. It is a con- 
nected growth and its life history is unbroken. Masterpieces 
have never been produced by men who have had no masters. 
Reverence for good work is the foundation of literary char- 
acter. The refusal to praise bad work or to imitate it is an 
author's professional chastity. 

Good work is the most honorable and lasting thing in 
the world. Four elements enter into good work in liter- 
ature : — 

An original impulse — not necessarily a new idea, but 
a new sense of the value of an idea. 

A first-hand study of the subject and material. 

A patient, joyful, unsparing labor for the perfection 
of form. 

A human aim — to cheer, console, purify, or ennoble 
the life of the people. Without this aim literature has never 
sent an arrow close to the mark. 

It is only by good work that men of letters can justify 
their right to a place in the world. The father of Thomas 
Carlyle was a stone-mason, whose walls stood true and needed 
no rebuilding. Carlyle's prayer was: "Let me write my 
books as he built his houses. " 

Henby Van Dyke: Books, Literature and the People, 1900 

6. All this, I know well enough, will sound wild and 
chimerical to the profane herd of those vulgar and mechanical 
politicians who have no place among us — a sort of people 
who think that nothing exists but what is gross and material; 
and who, therefore, far from being qualified to be directors 
of the great movement of empire, are unfit to turn a wheel 
in the machine. But to men truly initiated and rightly 
taught, these ruling and master principles, which in the 
opinion of such men as I have mentioned have no substantial 
existence, are in truth everything and all in all. Mag- 
nanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom: and 



116 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

a great empire and little minds go ill together. If we are 
conscious of our station, and glow with zeal to fill our places 
as becomes our situation and ourselves, we ought to auspicate 
all our public proceedings on America with the old warning 
of the church, Sursum corda ! We ought to elevate our minds 
to the greatness of that trust to which the order of Provi- 
dence has called us. By adverting to the dignity of this 
high calling, our ancestors have turned a savage wilderness 
into a glorious empire; and have made the most extensive, 
and the only honorable conquests, not by destroying, but 
by promoting the wealth, the number, the happiness of the 
human race. Let us get an American revenue as we have got 
an American empire. English privileges have made it all 
that it is; English privileges alone will make it all it can be. 

In full confidence of this unalterable truth, I now 
{quod felix faustumque sit !) lay the first stone of the Temple 
of Peace; and I move you; — 

That the colonies and plantations of Great Britain in 
North America, consisting of fourteen separate governments, 
and containing two millions and upwards of free inhabi- 
tants, have not had the liberty and privilege of electing 
and sending any knights and burgesses, or others, to repre- 
sent them in the high court of Parliament. 

Edmund Burke: Conciliation with America, 1775 

7. Now, Mr. Speaker, having fully answered all the 
arguments of my opponents, I will retire to the cloak-room 
for a few moments, to receive the congratulations of admiring 
mends. John Allen in a speech in Congress 

8. Relying then on the patronage of your good will, I 
advance with obedience to the work, ready to retire from it 
whenever you become sensible how much better choice it is 
in your power to make. And may that Infinite Power 
which rules the destinies of the universe lead our councils 






CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 117 

to what is best, and give them a favorable issue for your 
peace and prosperity. 

Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural, 1801 

9. My friends, this is wholly an unprepared speech. 
I did not expect to be called or to say a word when I came 
here. I supposed I was merely to do something toward 
raising a flag. I may, therefore, have said something in- 
discreet. But I have said nothing but what I am willing 
to live by, and, if it be the pleasure of Almighty God, to die 

by. 

Abraham Lincoln at Philadelphia, 1861 

10. I have spoken plainly because this seems to me the 
time when it is most necessary to speak plainly, in order that 
all the world may know that even in the heat and ardor of 
the struggle and when our whole thought is of carrying the 
war through to its end we have not forgotten any ideal or 
principle for which the name of America has been held in 
honor among the nations and for which it has been our glory 
to contend in the great generations that went before us. 
A supreme moment of history has come. The eyes of the 
people have been opened and they see. The hand of God 
is laid upon the nations. He will show them favor, I de- 
voutly believe, only if they rise to the clear heights of His 
own justice and mercy. 

Woodrow Wilson in a speech to Congress, 1917 

11. This is what I have to say — ponder it; something 
you will agree with, something you will disagree with; but 
think about it, if I am wrong, the sooner the wrong is ex- 
posed the better for me — this is what I have to say: God 
is bringing the nations together. We must establish courts 
of reason for the settlement of controversies between civilized 
nations. We must maintain a force sufficient to preserve 
law and order among barbaric nations; and we have small 



118 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

need of an army for any other purpose. We must follow 
the maintenance of law and the establishment of order and 
the foundations of civilization with the vitalizing forces 
that make for civilization. And we must constantly direct 
our purpose and our policies to the time when the whole 
world shall have become civilized; when men, families, com- 
munities, will yield to reason and to conscience. And then 
we will draw our sword Excalibur from its sheath and fling 
it out into the sea, rejoicing that it is gone forever. 

Lyman Abbott: International Brotherhood, 1899 

12. I give you, gentlemen, in conclusion, this senti- 
ment: "The Little Court-room at Geneva — where our 
royal mother England, and her proud though untitled 
daughter, alike bent their heads to the majesty of Law and 
accepted Justice as a greater and better arbiter than Power." 

William M. Evaets: International Arbitration, 1872 

13. You recollect the old joke, I think it began with 
Preston of South Carolina, that Boston exported no articles 
of native growth but granite and ice. That was true then, 
but we have improved since, and to these exports we have 
added roses and cabbages. Mr. President, they are good 
roses, and good cabbages, and I assure you that the granite 
is excellent hard granite, and the ice is very cold ice. 

Edward Everett Hale: Boston, 1880 

14. Long live the Republic of Washington! Respected 
by mankind, beloved of all its sons, long may it be the asylum 
of the poor and oppressed of all lands and religions — long 
may it be the citadel of that liberty which writes beneath 
the Eagle's folded wings, " We will sell to no man, we will 
deny to no man, Right and Justice." 

Long live the United States of America! Filled with 
the free, magnanimous spirit, crowned by the wisdom, blessed 
by the moderation, hovered over by the guardian angel of 



CONCLUDING THE SPEECH 119 

Washington's example; may they be ever worthy in all things 
to be defended by the blood of the brave who know the 
rights of man and shrink not from their assertion — may 
they be each a column, and altogether, under the Constitu- 
tion, a perpetual Temple of Peace, unshadowed by a Caesar's 
palace, at whose altar may freely commune all who seek the 
union of Liberty and Brotherhood. 

Long live our Country! Oh, long through the undying 
ages may it stand, far removed in fact as in space from the 
Old World's feuds and follies, alone in its grandeur and its 
glory, itself the immortal monument of Him whom Provi- 
dence commissioned to teach man the power of Truth, and to 
prove to the nations that their Redeemer liveth." 

John W. Daniel: Washington, 1885 

15. When that great and generous soldier, U. S. Grant 
gave back to Lee, crushed, but ever glorious, the sword he 
had surrendered at Appomattox, that magnanimous deed said 
to the people of the South: " You are our brothers." But 
when the present ruler of our grand republic on awakening 
to the condition of war that confronted him, with his first 
commission placed the leader's sword in the hands of those 
gallant Confederate commanders, Joe Wheeler and Fitzhugh 
Lee, he wrote between the lines in living letters of everlasting 
light the words: " There is but one people of this Union, one 
flag alone for all." 

The South, Mr. Toastmaster, will feel that her sons have 
been well given, that her blood has been well spilled, if that 
sentiment is to be indeed the true inspiration of our nation's 
future. God grant it may be as I believe it will. 

Clark Howell: Our Reunited Country, 1898 

16. Two years ago last autumn, we walked on the sea 
beach together, and with a strange and prophetic kind of 
poetry, he likened the scene to his own failing health, the 



120 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

falling leaves, the withered sea-weed, the dying grass upon 
the shore, and the ebbing tide that was fast receding from us. 
He told me that he felt prepared to go, for he had forgiven 
his enemies, and could even rejoice in their happiness. 
Surely this was a grand condition in which to step from this 
world across the threshold to the next! 

Joseph Jefferson: In Memory of Edwin Booth, 1893 

17. A public spirit so lofty is not confined to other lands. 
You are conscious of its stirrings in your soul. It calls you 
to courageous service, and I am here to bid you obey the call. 
Such patriotism may be yours. Let it be your parting vow 
that it shall be yours. Bolingbroke described a patriot king 
in England; I can imagine a patriot president in America. 
I can see him indeed the choice of a party, and called to ad- 
minister the government when sectional jealousy is fiercest 
and party passion most inflamed. I can imagine him seeing 
clearly what justice and humanity, the national law and the 
national welfare require him to do, and resolved to do it. I 
can imagine him patiently enduring not only the mad cry 
of party hate, the taunt of " recreant " and " traitor," of 
" renegade " and " coward," but what is harder to bear, the 
amazement, the doubt, the grief, the denunciation, of those 
as sincerely devoted as he to the common welfare. I can 
imagine him pushing firmly on, trusting the heart, the in- 
telligence, the conscience of his countrymen, healing angry 
wounds, correcting misunderstandings, planting justice on 
surer foundations, and, whether his party rise or fall, lifting 
his country heavenward to a more perfect union, prosperity, 
and peace. This is the spirit of a patriotism that girds the 
commonwealth with the resistless splendor of the moral 
law — the invulnerable panoply of states, the celestial secret 
of a great nation and a happy people. 

George William Curtis: The Public Duty of Educated Men, 1877 



CHAPTER VI 
GETTING MATERIAL 

The Material of Speeches. So far this book has 
dealt almost entirely with the manner of speaking. 
Now it comes to the relatively more important con- 
sideration of the material of speech. Necessary as 
it is that a speaker shall know how to speak, it is 
much more valuable that he shall know what to speak. 
We frequently hear it said of a speaker, " It wasn't 
what he said, it was the way he said it," indicating 
clearly that the striking aspect of the delivery was 
his manner; but even when this remark is explained 
it develops frequently that there was some value in 
the material, as well as some charm or surprise or 
novelty in the method of expression. In the last 
and closest analysis a speech is valuable for what it 
conveys to its hearers' minds, what it induces them 
to do, not what temporary effects of charm and enter- 
tainment it affords. 

Persons of keen minds and cultivated understand- 
ings have come away from gatherings addressed by 
men famous as good speech-makers and confessed 
to something like the following: "I was held spell- 
bound all the time he was talking, but for the life of 
me, I can't tell you one thing he said or one idea he 
impressed upon me." A student should judge speeches 
he hears with such things in mind, so that he can hold 

121 



\m PUBLIC SPEAKING 

certain ones up as models, and discard othe s as 
" horrible examples." 

It should be the rule that before a man attempts 
to speak he should have something to say. This is 
apparently not always the case. Many a man tries 
to say something when he simply has nothing at all 
to say. Recall the description of Gratiano's talk, 
quoted earlier in this book. 

A speaker then must have material. He must get 
material. The clergyman knows that he must deliver 
about a hundred sermons a year. The lawyer knows 
he must go into court on certain days. The lecturer 
must instruct his various audiences. The business 
man must address executive boards, committees, 
conventions, customers. The student must address 
classes, societies. The beginner in speech training 
must seize every opportunity to talk. Certainly the 
natural reserve stock of ideas and illustrations will 
soon be exhausted, or it will grow so stale that it will 
be delivered ineffectively, or it will be unsuitable to 
every occasion. A celebrated Frenchman, called upon 
unexpectedly to speak, excused himself by declaring, 
" What is suitable to say I do not know, and what I 
know is not suitable." 

Getting Material. There are three ways of getting 
material. The first is by observation, the second by 
interview, the third by reading. 

Observation. The value of securing material by 
observation is apparent at first glance. That which 
you have experienced you know. That which you 
have seen with your own eyes you can report correctly. 
That which has happened to you you can relate with 



GETTING MATERIAL 123 

the aspect of absolute truth. That which you have 
done you can teach others to do. That which has 
touched you you can explain correctly. That which 
you know to be the fact is proof against all attack. 

These are the apparent advantages of knowledge 
gained at first hand. The faculty of accurate ob- 
servation is one of the most satisfying that can enter 
into a person's mental equipment. It can be trained, 
broadened, and made more and more accurate. In 
some trades and professions it is an indispensable 
part of one's everyday ability. The faculty may be 
easily developed by exercise and test for accuracy. 

Every one acknowledges the weight and significance 
of material gained by observation. In America es- 
pecially we accord attention and regard to the reports 
and accounts made by men who have done things, 
the men who have experienced the adventures they 
relate. There is such a vividness, a reality, a con- 
viction about these personal utterances that we must 
listen respectfully and applaud sincerely. Magazines 
and newspapers offer hundreds of such articles for 
avid readers. Hundreds of books each year are 
based upon such material. 

With all its many advantages the field of observa- 
tion is limited. Not every person can experience 
or see all he is interested in and wants to talk about. 
We must choose presidents but we cannot observe 
the candidates themselves and their careers. We 
must have opinions about the League of Nations, 
I the Mexican situation, the radical labor movements, 
the changing taxes, but we cannot observe all phases 
of these absorbing topics. If we restrict speeches 



124 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

to only what we can observe we shall all be uttering 
merely trivial personalities based upon no general 
knowledge and related to none of the really important 
things in the universe. 

Nor is it always true that the person who does a 
thing can report it clearly and accurately. Ask a 
woman or girl how she hemstitches a handkerchief, 
or a boy how he swims or throws a curve, and note the 
involved and inaccurate accounts. If you doubt 
this, explain one of these to the class. It is not easy 
to describe exactly what one has seen, mainly because 
people do not see accurately. People usually see 
what they want to see, what they are predisposed to 
see. Witnesses in court, testifying upon oath con- 
cerning an accident, usually produce as many different 
versions as there are pairs of eyes. Books upon 
psychology report many enlightening and amusing 
cases of this defect of accurate observation in people. 1 

The two negative aspects of material secured in 
this first manner — 1, limited range of observation, 
2, inaccuracy of observation — placed beside the 
advantages already listed will clearly indicate in 
what subjects and circumstances this method should 
be relied upon for securing material for speeches. 

EXERCISES 

1. Make a list of recent articles based upon observation 
which you have seen or read in newspapers and magazines. 

2. With what kind of material does each deal? 

3. Which article is best? Why? 

1 Good cases are related by Swift, E. J.: Psychology and the Day's Work. 






GETTING MATERIAL 125 

4. List four topics upon which your observation has given 
you material which could be used in a speech. 

5. What kind of speech? A speech for what purpose? 

6. Consider and weigh the value of your material. 

7. Why is it good? 

8. What limits, or drawbacks has it? 

9. What could be said against it from the other side? 

Interview. If a person cannot himself experience 
or observe all he wants to use for material his first 
impulse will be to interview people who have had 
experience themselves. In this circumstance the 
speaker becomes the reporter of details of knowledge 
furnished by others. The value of this is apparent 
at once. Next to first-hand knowledge, second-hand 
knowledge will serve admirably. 

Every newspaper and magazine in the world uses 
this method because its readers' first query, mental or 
expressed, of all its informative articles is "Is this 
true? " If the author is merely repeating the ex- 
perience of an acknowledged expert in the field under 
discussion, the value of the interview cannot be 
questioned. In this case the resulting report is almost 
as good as the original testimony or statement of the 
man who knows. 

The first requisite, therefore, of material gathered 
in such a manner is that it be reproduced exactly as 
first delivered. The man who told a woman that a 
critic had pronounced her singing " heavenly " had 
good intentions but he was not entirely accurate in 
changing to that flattering term the critic's actual 
adjective " unearthly." The frequency with which 
alleged statements published in the daily press are 



126 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

contradicted by the supposed utterers indicates how 
usual such misrepresentation is, though it may be 
honestly unintentional. The speaker before an audi- 
ence must be scrupulously correct in quoting. This 
accuracy is not assured unless a stenographic transcript 
be taken at the time the information is given, or unless 
the person quoted reads the sentiments and state- 
ments credited to him and expresses his approval. 

Signed statements, personal letters, printed records, 
photographs, certified copies, and other exhibits of 
all kinds are employed to substantiate material secured 
from interviews and offered in speeches. If you notice 
newspaper accounts of lectures, political speeches, 
legislative procedure, legal practice, you will soon 
become familiar with such usages as are described 
by the expressions, filing as part of the record, taking 
of a deposition in one city for use in a lawsuit in 
another, Exhibit A, photograph of an account book, 
statement made in the presence of a third party, as 
recorded by a dictaphone, etc. 

The first danger in securing material by the personal 
interview is the natural error of misunderstanding. 
The second danger is the natural desire — not neces- 
sarily false, at that — to interpret to the user's bene- 
fit, the material so secured, or to the discredit of all 
views other than his own. It is so easy, so tempting, 
in making out a strong case for one's own opinions 
to omit the slight concession which may grant ever 
so little shade of right to other beliefs. Judicious 
manipulation of any material may degenerate into 
mere juggling for support. Quotations and reports, 
like statistics, can be made to prove anything, and the 



GETTING MATERIAL 127 

general intellectual distrust of mere numbers is cleverly 
summed up in the remark, " Figures can't lie, but liars 
can figure." 

To have the material accepted as of any weight or 
value the person from whom it is secured must be 
recognized as an authority. He must be of such emi- 
nence in the field for which his statements are quoted 
as not only to be accepted by the speaker using his 
material but as unqualifiedly recognized by all the 
opponents of the speaker. His remarks must have 
the definiteness of the expert witness whose testimony 
in court carries so much weight. To secure due con- 
sideration, the speaker must make perfectly clear to 
his audience the position of his authority, his fitness 
to be quoted, his unquestioned knowledge, sincerity, 
and honesty. ■ " m <& . --i , , : . • ^ ,.-.^ 

Knowledge secured in this manner may be used 
with signal effect in a speech, either to supply all the 
material or to cover certain portions. If you listen 
to many speeches (and you should), notice how often 
a speaker introduces the result of his interviews — 
formal or merely conversational — with persons whose 
statement he is certain will impress his audience. 

EXERCISES 

1. Make a list of five topics of which you know so little 
that you would have to secure information by interviews. 

2. Of these choose two, define your opinion or feeling in 
each, and tell to whom you could apply for material. 

3. Choose one dealing with some topic of current interest 
in your locality; define your own opinion or feeling, and tell 
to whom you could apply for material. 



128 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

4. Explain exactly why you name this person. 

5. Prepare a set of questions to bring out material to 
support your position. 

6. Prepare some questions to draw out material to dispose 
of other views. 

7. Interview some person upon one of the foregoing topics 
or a different one, and in a speech present this material before 
the class. 

8. In general discussion comment on the authorities 
reported and the material presented. 

Reading. The best way and the method most 
employed for gathering material is reading. Every 
user of material in speeches must depend upon his 
reading for the greatest amount of his knowledge. 
The old expression " reading law " shows how most 
legal students secured the information upon which 
their later practice was based. Nearly all real study 
of any kind depends upon wide and careful reading. 

Reading, in the sense here used, differs widely from 
the entertaining perusal of current magazines, or the 
superficial skimming through short stories or novels. 
Reading for material is done with a more serious pur- 
pose than merely killing time, and is regulated accord- 
ing to certain methods which have been shown to pro- 
duce the best results for the effort and time expended. 

The speaker reads for the single purpose of securing 
material to serve his need in delivered remarks. He 
has a definite aim. He must know how to serve that 
end. Not every one who can follow words upon a 
printed page can read in this sense. He must be 
able to read, understand, select, and retain. The 
direction is heard in some churches to " read, mark, 



GETTING MATERIAL 129 

learn, and inwardly digest." This is a picturesque 
phrasing of the same principles. 

You must know how to read. Have you often in 
your way through a book suddenly realized at the 
bottom of a page that you haven't the slightest recol- 
lection of what your eye has been over? You may 
have felt this same way after finishing a chapter. 
People often read poetry in this manner. This is not 
really reading. The speaker who reads for material 
must concentrate. If he reaches the bottom of a page 
without an idea, he must go back to get it. It is 
better not to read too rapidly the first time, in order 
to save this repetition. The ability to read is trained 
in exactly the same way as any other ability. Ac- 
curacy first, speed later. Perhaps the most prevalent 
fault of students of all kinds is lack of concentration. 

Understanding. After reading comes understand- 
ing. To illustrate this, poetry again might be cited, 
for any one can read poetry, though many declare 
they cannot understand it. The simplest looking 
prose may be obscure to the mind which is slow in 
comprehending. When we read we get general ideas, 
cursory impressions; we catch the drift of the author's 
meaning. Reading for material must be more thor- 
ough than that. It must not merely believe it under- 
stands; it must preclude the slightest possibility of 
misunderstanding. 

A reader who finds in a printed speech approval 
of a system of representation but a condemnation of 
a system of representatives must grasp at once, or must 
work out for himself, the difference between these 
two: the first meaning a relationship only, the second 



130 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

meaning men serving as delegates. When he meets 
an unusual word like mandatory, he must not be con- 
tent to guess at its significance by linking it with com- 
mand and mandate, for as used in international affairs 
it means something quite definite. To secure this 
complete understanding of all his reading he will 
consult consistently every book of reference. He 
should read with a good dictionary at his elbow, and 
an atlas and an encyclopedia within easy reach. If 
he is able to talk over with others what he reads, ex- 
plaining to them what is not clear, he will have an 
excellent method of testing his own understanding. 
The old-fashioned practice of " saying lessons over " 
at home contributed to this growth of a pupil's under- 
standing. 

Selecting. Third, the reader for material must 
know how to select. As he usually reads to secure 
information or arguments for a certain definite pur- 
pose, he will save time by knowing quickly what not 
to read. All that engages his attention without 
directly contributing to his aim is wasting time and 
energy. He must learn how to use books. If he 
cannot handle alphabetized collections quickly he is 
wasting time. If he does not know how material is 
arranged he will waste both time and energy. He 
must know books. 

Every printed production worthy of being called 
a book should have an index. Is the index the same 
as the table of contents? The table of contents is 
printed at the beginning of the volume. It is a synop- 
sis, by chapter headings or more detailed topics, of 
the plan of the book. It gives a general outline of 



GETTING MATERIAL 131 

the contents of the book. You are interested in 
public speaking. You wonder whether a book con- 
tains a chapter on debating. Does this one? You 
notice that a speaker used a series of jerky gesticula- 
tions. You wonder whether this book contains a 
chapter upon gestures. Does it? 

The table of contents is valuable for the purposes 
just indicated. It appears always at the beginning 
of a work. If the work fills more than one volume, 
the table of contents is sometimes given for all of them 
in the first; sometimes it is divided among the volumes; 
sometimes both arrangements are combined. 

The table of contents is never so valuable as the 
index. This always comes at the end of the book. 
If the work is in more than one volume the index 
comes at the end of the last volume. What did you 
learn of the topic gestures in this book from your refer- 
ence to the table of contents? Now look at the index. 
What does the index do for a topic? If a topic is 
treated in various parts of a long work the volumes are 
indicated by Roman numerals, the pages by ordinary 
numerals. 

Interpret this entry taken from the index of A His- 
tory of the United States by H. W. Elson. 

Slavery, introduced into Virginia, i, 93; in South Caro- 
lina, 122; in Georgia, 133; in New England, 276; in the 
South, 276; during colonial period, iii, 69, 70; in Missouri, 
72; attacked by the Abolitionists, 142-6; excluded from 
California, 184; character of, in the South, 208 seq.; 
population, iv, 82; abolished in District of Columbia, in 
new territories, 208; abolished by Thirteenth Amendment, 
320, 321. 



132 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Retaining Knowledge. The only valid test of the 
reader's real equipment is what he retains and can 
use. How much of what you read do you remember? 
The answer depends upon education, training in this 
particular exercise, and lapse of time. What method 
of remembering do you find most effective in your 
own case? To answer this you should give some 
attention to your own mind. What kind of mind 
have you? Do you retain most accurately what you 
see? Can you reproduce either exactly or in correct 
substance what you read to yourself without any 
supporting aids to stimulate your memory? If you 
have this kind of mind develop it along that line. Do 
not weaken its power by letting it lean on any sup- 
ports at all. If you find you can do without them, 
do not get into the habit of taking notes. If you 
can remember to do everything you should do during 
a trip downtown don't make a list of the items before 
you go. If you can retain from a single reading the 
material you are gathering, don't make notes. Im- 
press things upon your memory faculty. Develop 
that ability in yourself. 

Have you a different kind of mind, the kind which 
remember best what it tells, what it explains, what 
it does? Do you fix things in your brain by per- 
forming them? Does information become rooted in 
your memory because you have imparted it to others? 
If so you should secure the material you gather from 
your reading by adapting some method related to 
the foregoing. You may talk it over with some one 
else, you may tell it aloud to yourself, you may imagine 
you are before an audience and practise impressing 






GETTING MATERIAL 133 

them with what you want to retain. Any device 
which successfully fixes knowledge in your memory 
is legitimate. You should know enough about your 
own mental processes to find for yourself the best 
and quickest way. It is often said of teachers that 
they do not actually feel that they know a subject 
until they have tried to teach it to others. 

Taking Notes. Another kind of mind recalls or 
remembers material it has read when some note or 
hint suggests all of it. This kind of mind depends 
upon the inestimably valuable art of note-taking, a 
method quite as worthy as the two just considered if 
its results justify its employment. Note-taking does 
not mean a helter-skelter series of exclamatory jottings. 
It means a well-planned, regularly organized series of 
entries so arranged that reference to any portion recalls 
vividly and exactly the full material of the original. 
Books and speeches are well planned. They follow 
a certain order. Notes based upon them should 
reproduce that plan and show the relative value of 
parts. 

When completed, such notes, arranged in outline 
form, should enable the maker to reproduce the ex- 
tended material from which they were made. If he 
cannot do that, his reading and his note-taking were 
to little purpose. A speaker who has carefully written 
out his full speech and delivers it form the manuscript 
can use that speech over and over again. But that 
does not indicate that he really knows much about 
the topic he is discussing. He did know about it 
once. But the man who from a series of notes can 
reconstruct material worked up long before proves 



134 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






that he has retained his knowledge of it. Besides, 
this method gives him the chance to adapt his 
presentation to the changing conditions and the new 
audience. 

In using this method, when a particularly important 
bit of information is met, it should be set down very 
carefully, usually verbatim, as it may be quoted 
exactly in the speech. This copy may be made upon 
the paper where the regular notes are being entered 
so that it may be found later embodied in the material 
it supports. Or it may later be cut from this sheet 
to be shifted about and finally fixed when planning 
the speech, or preparing the outline (discussed in the 
next two chapters). Many practised speech-makers 
copy such material upon the regularly sized library 
catalog cards (3 by 5 inches) , some distinguishing by the 
colors of cards the various kinds of material, such as 
arguments supporting a position, opposite arguments, 
refutation, statistics, court judgments, etc. The be- 
ginner will find for himself what methods he can use 
best. Of course he must never let his discriminating 
system become so elaborate that he consumes un- 
justifiable time and thought in following its intricate 
plan. 

In all cases of quotations — either verbatim or in 
resume — the authority must be noted. Author, 
official title or position, title of work, circumstances, 
date, volume, page, etc., should be clearly set down. 
In law cases the date is especially important as so 
frequently the latest decision reverses all the earlier 
ones. For convenience of filing and handling these 
items are placed at the top of the card. 



GETTING MATERIAL 



135 



Monroe Doctrine — Meaning 

W. Wilson — Hist. Amer. People, V, 245 

The U. S. had not undertaken to maintain an actual 
formal protectorate over the S. Amer. states, but 
it did frankly undertake to act as their nearest friend 
in the settlement of controversies with European 
nations, and no President, whether Rep. or Dem., 
had hesitated since this critical dispute concerning 
the boundaries of Brit. Guiana arose to urge its 
settlement upon terms favorable to Venezuela. 



The following notes were made by a student in 
preparation for a speech upon the opposition to the 
Covenant of the League of Nations, These excerpts 
are from the notes upon the newspaper reports of the 
debate in Boston in 1919 between Senator Lodge 
and President Lowell of Harvard. Notice how ac- 
curately they suggest the material of the original. 
The numbers represent the paragraph numbers. 

35. Monroe Doctrine a fence that cannot be 
extended by taking it down. 

36. Monroe Doctrine a corollary of Washing- 
ton's foreign policy. 

37. Geographical considerations on which Mon- 
Monroe I roe Doctrine rested still obtain. 

Doctrine. 38. Systems of morality and philosophy are not 
transient, because they rest on verities. 

39. Monroe Doctrine rests on law of self- 
preservation. 

40. Offers a larger reservation of Monroe 
Doctrine as third constructive criticism. 

Senatob Lodge 



136 



PUBLIC SPEAKING 



What a 

League 

should 

provide. 



leagu 
for obligatory ar- 



gue 



3. Wants to consider what such a 

must contain. 

4. Must have provision 

bitration. 

5. Obligation not to resort to war must be 

compulsory. 

6. Compulsion must be such that no nation 

will venture to incur it. 

7. Nation that does not submit to arbitration 

must be treated as outlaw. 

8. If decisions of arbitrations are clear and 

generally considered just, a nation desir- 
ing to wage war should be prevented. 

9. Points of contact are not points of friction 

except when made too infrequent. 

10. Travel, intercourse, frequent meetings help 

amicable adjustments. 

11. League should provide councils where men 

can meet and talk over differences. 

12. Penalty for violating agreements should be 

automatic. 

13. All should be obliged to make war on at- 

tacking nation. 

President Lowell 



Using the Library. A reader must know how to use 
libraries. This means he must be able to find books 
by means of the card catalogs. These are arranged 
by both authors and subjects. If he knows the author 
of a book or its title he can easily find the cards and 
have the book handed to him. Very often he will 
seek information upon topics entirely new to him. 
In this case he must look under the entry of the topic 
for all the books bearing upon his. From the titles, 






GETTING MATERIAL 137 

the brief descriptions, and (sometimes) the tables of 
contents upon the cards he can select intelligently the 
books he needs. For instance, if he is searching for 
arguments to support a newTdnd of city government 
he could discard at once several books cataloged as 
follows, while he could pick unerringly the four which 
might furnish him the material he wants. These 
books are listed under the general topic " Cities." 

The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets. Old English 
Towns. Municipal Administration. The Modern City and 
its Problems. Personality of American Cities. Historic 
Towns of the Southern States. Romantic Germany. Cities 
of Italy. American Municipal Progress. 

Cross references are also valuable. In addition to 
books cataloged under the topic consulted, others 
grouped under other subjects may contain related 
information. Here are three actual cross references 
taken from a library catalog. 

Land : Ownership, rights, and rent. See also conservation, 
production, agriculture. 

Laboring classes: Morals and habits. See also ethics, 
amusements, Sunday. 

Church. See also church and state, persecutions. 

• The continual use of a library will familiarize a 
student with certain classes of books to which he may 
turn for information. If he is permitted to handle 
the books themselves upon the shelves he will soon 
become skilful in using books. Many a trained 
speaker can run his eye over titles, along tables of 
contents, scan the pages, and unerringly pick the 
heart out of a volume. Nearly all libraries now are 



138 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

arranged according to one general plan, so a visitor 
who knows this scheme can easily find the class of 
books he wants in almost any library he uses. This 
arrangement is based upon the following decimal 
numbering and grouping of subject matter. 

LIBRARY CLASSIFICATION 

000 to 090, General works. Bibliography. Library 
economy. Cyclopedias. Collections. Periodicals. Socie- 
ties, museums. Journalism, newspapers. Special libraries, 
polygraphy. Book rarities. 

100 to 190, Philosophy. Metaphysics. Special topics. 
Mind and body. Philosophic systems. Mental faculties, 
psychology. Logic, dialectics. Ethics. Ancient philos- 
ophers. Modern. 

200 to 290, Religion. Natural Theology. Bible. Doc- 
trinal dogmatics, theology. Devotional, practical. Homi- 
letic, pastoral, parochial. Church, institutions, work. 
Religious history. Christian churches and sects. Ethnic, 
non-christian. 

300 to 390, Sociology. Statistics. Political science. 
Political economy. Law. Administration. Associations, 
institutions. Education. Commerce, communication. Cus- 
toms, costumes, folklore. 

400 to 490, Philology. Comparative. English. German. 
French. Italian. Spanish. Latin. Greek. Minor literatures. 

500 to 590, Natural science. Mathematics, Astronomy. 
Physics. Chemistry. Geology. Paleontology. Biology. 
Botany. Zoology. 

600 to 690, Useful arts. Medicine. Engineering. 
Agriculture. Domestic economy. Communication, com- 
merce. Chemic technology. Manufactures. Mechanic 
trades. Building. 



GETTING MATERIAL 13£ 

700 to 790, Fine arts. Landscape gardening. Architec- 
ture. Sculpture. Drawing, decoration, design. Painting. 
Engraving. Photography. Music. Amusements. 

800 to 890, Literature (same order as under Philology? 
400). 

900 to 990, History. Geography and travels. Biography. 
Ancient history. Modern Europe. Asia. Africa. North 
America. South America. Oceanica and polar regions. 

M. Dewey: Decimal Classification 

Using Periodicals. In the section on taking notes 
the direction was given that in citing legal decisions 
the latest should be secured. Why? That same 
principle applies to citing any kind of information in 
a speech. Science, history, politics, government, in- 
ternational questions, change so rapidly in these times 
that the fact of yesterday is the fiction of today, and 
vice versa. A speaker must be up to date in his knowl- 
edge. This he can be only by consulting current 
periodicals. He cannot read them all so he must 
use the aids provided for him. The best of these is 
the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature issued every 
month and kept in the reference room of all libraries. 
In it, arranged under both subject and author's name, 
are listed the articles which have appeared in the 
various magazines. The December issue contains 
the entries for the entire year. A group of topics 
from a recent monthly issue will show its value to 
the speaker securing material. 

Eastern Question. British case in the East. H. Side- 
botham, Asia 19:261-1263 Mr '19. —England and her 
eastern policy. H. Sidebotham. Asia, 19:158-161. F '19. 
—-Khanates of the Middle East. Ikbal Ali Shah. Con- 



140 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

temp. 115:183-187 F 19. —More secret treaties in the 
Near East. L. Stoddard. Maps. World's Work. 37: 
589-591. Mr '19. — Part of the United States in the Near 
East. R of Rs 59:305-306 Mr '19. —Should America 
act as trustee of the Near East? Asia, 19:141-144 F'19. 

By this time the student speaker will have that 
mental alertness referred to early in this book. He 
will be reading regularly some magazine — not to pass 
the time pleasantly — but to keep himself posted on 
current topics and questions of general interest, in 
which the articles will direct him to other periodicals 
for fuller treatment of the material he is gathering. 
The nature of some of these is suggested here. 

The Outlook, " An illustrated weekly journal of current 
events." 

Current Opinion, Monthly. Review of the World, 
Persons in the Foreground, Music and Drama, Science and 
Discovery, Religion and Social Ethics, Literature and Art, 
The Industrial World, Reconstruction. 

The Literary Digest, Weekly. Topics of the Day, Foreign 
Comment, Science and Invention, Letters and Art, Religion 
and Social Service, Current Poetry, Miscellaneous, Invest- 
ments and Finance. 

The Independent, an illustrated weekly. 

EXERCISES 

1. Describe to the class the contents of a recent issue of 
a magazine. Concentrate upon important departments, 
articles, or policies, so that you will not deliver a mere list. 

2. Tell how an article in some periodical led you to read 
more widely to secure fuller information. 

3. Explain why you read a certain periodical regularly. 



GETTING MATERIAL 141 

4. Speak upon one of the following topics : 

Freak magazines. 

My magazine. 

Policies of magazines. 

Great things magazines have done. 

Technical magazines. 

Adventures at a magazine counter. 

Propaganda periodicals. 

5. Explain exactly how you study. 

6. How would you secure an interview with some person 
of prominence? 

7. Is the " cramming " process of studying a good one? 

8. Is it ever justifiable? 

9. Explain how, why, and when it may be used by men 
in their profession. 

10. Give the class an idea of the material of some book 
you have read recently. 

11. Explain how reading a published review or hearing 
comments on a book induced you to read a volume which 
proved of value to you. 

12. Can you justify the reading of the last part only of 
a book? Consider non-fiction. 

13. For preserving clippings, notes, etc., which method 
is better — cards filed in boxes or drawers, scrap-books, or 
slips and clippings grouped in envelopes? 

14. Report to the class some information upon one of the 
following. Tell exactly how and where you secured your 
information. 

Opium traffic in China. 

Morphine habit in the United States. 

Women in literature. 

A drafted army as compared with a volunteer army. 

Orpheum as a theater name. 

Prominent business women. 



142 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






War time influence of D'Annunzio. 
Increasing cost of living. 
Secretarial courses. 

The most beautiful city of the American continent. 
Alfalfa. 

Women surgeons. 
The blimp. 

Democracy in Great Britain compared with that of the 
United States. 

The root of the Mexican problem. 
San Marino. 

Illiteracy in the United States. 
How women vote. 

(Note. — The teacher should supply additions, substi- 
tutes, and modifications.) 



CHAPTER VII 
PLANNING THE SPEECH 

Selecting Material. It can be assumed, by the 
time you have reached this point in the study and 
practice of making speeches, that you have words to 
express your thoughts and some fair skill of delivery, 
that you know something about preparing various 
kinds of introductions and conclusions, that you 
know how your own mind operates in retaining new 
information, and that you know how to secure ma- 
terial for various purposes. Either clearly assimilated 
in your brain or accurately noted upon paper you have 
all the ideas that are to appear in your speech. 

The Length of the Speech. Look over this ma- 
terial again. Consider it carefully in your thoughts, 
mentally deciding how long a time or how many 
words you will devote to each topic or entry. Can 
you from such a practical consideration determine how 
long in time your speech will be? Are you limited 
by requirements to a short time as were the Four 
Minute Speakers? Have you been allotted a half 
hour? Will you hold your audience longer? 

These may appear simple things, but they cover 
the first essential of planning any speech. It should 
be just the correct length — neither too long nor too 
short. Many beginners — timid, hesitant, untrained 
— will frequently fill too short a time, so that they 

us 



144 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






must drill themselves into planning longer productions. 
On the other hand, it may be stated, as a general 
criticism, that many speakers talk too long. 

A United States Senator, in order to block the vote 
on a bill he was opposing, decided to speak until Con- 
gress had to adjourn, so he deliberately planned to 
cover a long time. He spoke for some twenty-two 
hours. Of course he did not say much, nor did he 
talk continuously; to get rests, he requested the clerk 
to call the roll, and while the list was being marked, 
he ate and drank enough to sustain him. Technically 
his speech was uninterrupted, for he still had the 
floor. Though we may not approve of such methods 
of legislative procedure we must see that for this 
speech the first element of its plan was its length. 

Keep this consideration of time always in mind. 
Speakers always ask how long they are to speak, or 
they stipulate how much time they require. Legis- 
lative bodies frequently have limiting rules. Courts 
sometimes allow lawyers so much time. A minister 
must fit his sermon to the length of the service. A 
business man must not waste his hearers' time. A 
lecturer must not tire his audience. In Congress 
members must be given chances to eat. In Parlia- 
ment, which meets in the evening, men grow anxious 
for bed. 

Making the Speech too Long. The rule is funda- 
mental, yet it is violated continually. I have known 
of instances when four men, asked to present material 
in a meeting announced months in advance as lasting 
two hours, have totally disregarded this fact, and 
prepared enough material to consume over an hour 



PLANNING THE SPEECH 145 

each. In such cases the presiding officer should state 
to each that he will be allowed exactly thirty minutes 
and no more. He may tap on the table after twenty- 
five have elapsed to warn the speaker to pass to his 
conclusion, and at the expiration of the time make 
him bring his remarks to a close and give way to the 
next speaker. There is no unfairness in this. The 
real offense is committed by the speaker who proves 
himself so inconsiderate, so discourteous of the con- 
ditions that he places himself in such an embarrass- 
ing circumstance. He deserves only justice tempered 
by no mercy. I have heard the first of two speakers 
who were to fill an hour of a commemorative service 
in a church talk on for an hour and ten minutes, boring 
the congregation to fidgety restlessness and completely 
preventing the second speaker — the more important 
— from delivering a single word. 

Mark Twain tells how he went to church one hot 
night to hear a city mission worker describe his ex- 
periences among the poor people of the crowded 
districts who, though they needed help, were too 
modest or proud to ask for it. The speaker told of 
the suffering and bravery he found. Then he pointed 
out that the best gifts to charity are not the advertised 
bounties of the wealthy but the small donations of the 
less fortunate. His appeals worked Mark Twain up 
to great enthusiasm and generosity. He was ready 
to give all he had with him — four hundred dollars — 
and borrow more. The entire congregation wanted 
to offer all it had. But the missionary kept on talking. 
The audience began to notice the heat. It became 
hotter and hotter. They grew more and more un- 



146 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

comfortable. Mark's generosity began to shrink. 
It dwindled to less and less as the speech lengthened 
until when the plate did finally reach him, he stole 
ten cents from it. He adds that this simply proves 
how a little thing like a long-winded speech can induce 
crime. 

Plan your speech so that it will be the proper length. 

Discarding Material. This first consideration very 
likely indicates to you that you have much more ma- 
terial than you can use in the time allowed or assigned 
you. You must discard some. Strange as it may 
seem, this is one of the must difficult directions to carry 
out. It seems such a waste of time and material to 
select for actual presentation so small a part of all 
you have carefully gathered. There is always the 
temptation to " get it all in somehow." Yet the 
direction must remain inflexible. You can use only 
part of it. You must carefully select what will serve 
your purpose. What is the purpose of your speech? 
What is the character of your audience? These two 
things will determine to a large extent, what and how 
much you must relinquish. Your finished speech 
will be all the better for the weeding-out process. 
Better still, in all your preliminary steps for subse- 
quent speeches you will become skilful in selecting 
while you are gathering the material itself. Finally 
you will become so practised that you will not burden 
yourself with waste, although you will always secure 
enough to supply you with a reserve supply for assur- 
ance and emergency. 

Relation of Material to the Purpose of the Speech. 
A few examples will show the wide application of this 



PLANNING THE SPEECH 147 

principle A boy who has explained to his father 
the scholarship rules of his school concerning athletes 
will discard a great deal of that material when he ad- 
dresses a student gathering. A speaker on child 
labor in a state where women have voted for a long 
time will discard much of the material presented in a 
neighboring state where general franchise has just 
been granted. If in a series of remarks you want 
to emphasize the thrilling experience you have had 
with a large fish which jerked you out of a boat, you 
would not include such material as the trip on the 
train to the lake where you had your adventure. Why 
not? 

These are humble instances, but the principle of 
selection is the same for all speeches. 

A man who was asked to lecture on Mark Twain 
knew the contents of the thirty published volumes 
written by him, all the biographies, practically 
every article written about him; he had conversed 
with people who had known him; he had visited 
scenes of his life; yet when he planned to talk for 
an hour he had to reject everything except two 
striking periods of his life with their effects upon 
his writing. 

Burke, in one great effort, declared he had no in- 
tention of dealing with the right of taxation; he con- 
fined himself merely to the expediency of Great Britain's 
revenue laws for America. Other great speakers 
have — in their finished speeches — just as clearly 
indicated the plans they have decided to follow. 
Such definite announcements determine the material 
of many introductions. 



148 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

My task will be divided under three different heads: 
first, The Crime Against Kansas, in its origin and extent; 
secondly, The Apologies for the Crime; and, thirdly, The 
True Remedy. 

Charles Sumner: The Crime against Kansas, 1856 

Mr. President and Fellow Citizens of New York: 

The facts with which I shall deal this evening are mainly 
old and familiar; nor is there anything new in the general 
use I shall make of them. If there shall be any novelty, it 
will be in the mode of presenting the facts, and the inferences 
and observations following that presentation. In his speech 
last autumn at Columbus, Ohio, as reported in the New 
York Times, Senator Douglas said: " Our fathers, when they 
framed the government under which we live, understood this 
question just as well, and even better, than we do now." 

I fully indorse this, and I adopt it as a text for this dis- 
course. I so adopt it because it furnishes a precise and an 
agreed starting-point for a discussion between Republicans 
and that wing of the Democracy headed by Senator Douglas. 
It simply leaves the inquiry: What was the understanding 
those fathers had of the question mentioned? 

Abraham Lincoln: Cooper Union Speech, 1860 

Indicating the Plan in the Speech. In some finished 
and long speeches parts of the plan are distributed to 
mark the divisions in the progress of the development. 
The next quotation shows such an insertion. 



And now sir, against all these theories and opinions, I 
maintain — 

1. That the Constitution of the United States is not a 
league, confederacy, or compact between the people of the 
several States in their sovereign capacities; but a govern- 
ment proper, founded on the adoption of the people, and 
creating direct relations between itself and individuals. 






PLANNING THE SPEECH 149 

2. That no State authority has power to dissolve these 
relations; that nothing can dissolve them but revolution; 
and that, consequently, there can be no such thing as secession 
without revolution. 

3. That there is a supreme law, consisting of the Consti- 
tution of the United States, and acts of Congress passed in 
pursuance of it, and treaties; and that, in cases not capable 
of assuming the character of a suit in law or equity, Congress 
must judge of, and finally interpret, this supreme law so 
often as it has occasion to pass acts of legislation; and in 
cases capable of assuming, and actually assuming, the char- 
acter of a suit, the Supreme Court of the United States is 
the final interpreter. 

4. That an attempt by a State to abrogate, annul, or 
nullify an act of Congress, or to arrest its operation within 
her limits, on the ground that, in her opinion, such law is 
unconstitutional, is a direct usurpation on the just powers 
of the general Government, and on the equal rights of other 
States; a plain violation of the Constitution, a proceeding 
essentially revolutionary in its character and tendency. 

Daniel Webster: The Constitution Not a Compact between 

Sovereign States, 1833 

Such a statement to the audience is especially helpful 
when the speaker is dealing with technical subjects, 
or material with which most people are not usually 
and widely conversant. Scientific considerations al- 
ways become clearer when such plans are simply con- 
structed, clearly announced, and plainly followed. 

So far as I know, there are only three hypotheses which 
ever have been entertained, or which well can be entertained, 
respecting the past history of Nature. I will, in the first 
place, state the hypotheses, and then I will consider what 
evidence bearing upon them is in our possession, and by 
what light of criticism that evidence is to be interpreted. 



150 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Upon the first hypothesis, the assumption is, that phe- 
nomena of Nature similar to those exhibited by the present 
"world have always existed; in other words, that the universe 
lias existed from all eternity in what may be broadly termed 
its present condition. 

The second hypothesis is, that the present state of things 
has had only a limited duration; and that, at some period in 
the past, a condition of the world, essentially similar to that 
which we now know, came into existence, without any 
precedent condition from which it could have naturally 
proceeded. The assumption that successive states of 
Nature have arisen, each without any relation of natural 
causation to an antecedent state, is a mere modification of 
this second hypothesis. 

The third hypothesis also assumes that the present state 
of things has had but a limited duration; but it supposes 
that this state has been evolved by a natural process from 
an antecedent state, and that from another, and so on; and, 
on this hypothesis, the attempt to assign any limit to the 
series of past changes is, usually, given up. 

Thomas H. Huxley: Lectures on Evolution, 1876 

EXERCISES 

1. According to what methods are the foregoing plans 
arranged? Which division in Sumner's speech was the most 
important? Was he trying to get his listeners to do any- 
thing? What do you think that object was? 

2. In Lincoln's speech do you think he planned the 
material chronologically? Historically? What reasons have 
you for your answer? 

3. Which of Webster's four parts is the most important? 
Give reasons for your answer. 

4. Which hypothesis (what does the word mean?) did 
Huxley himself support? What induces you to think thus? 



PLANNING THE SPEECH 151 

Is this plan in any respect like Sumner's? Explain your 
answer. 

5. Make a list of the ways in which material of speeches 
may be arranged. 

Arrangement. Importance. If you have several 
topics to cover in a single speech where would you 
put the most important? First or last? Write upon 
a piece of paper the position you choose. You have 
given this plan some thought so you doubtlessly put 
down the correct position. What did you write? 
First? That is usually the answer of nine pupils out 
of every ten. Are you with the majority? If you 
wrote that the most important topic should be treated 
first, you are wrong. The speech would be badly 
planned. Think for a moment. Which should be 
the most important part of a story or a play? The 
beginning or the ending? If it is the early part, why 
should any one read on to the end or stay for the 
curtain to come down the last time? So in speeches 
the importance of topics should always increase as the 
speech proceeds. This, then, is a principle of plan- 
ning. Arrange your topics in an ascending order of 
importance. Work up to what is called the climax. 

The list you made in response to direction 5 given 
above should now be presented to the class and its 
contents discussed. What kind of material is likely 
to be arranged according to each of your principles? 
You have put down the chronological order, or the 
order of time, or some similar phrase. Just what do 
you mean by that? Do you mean, begin with the 
earliest material and follow in chronological order 
down to the latest? Could the reverse order ever be 



152 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

used? Can you cite some instance? Is contrast a 
good order to follow in planning? Cite material 
which could be so arranged. Would an arrangement 
from cause to effect be somewhat like one based on 
time? Explain your answer. Under what circum- 
stances do you think the opposite might be used — 
from effect to cause? 

While there are almost countless methods of ar- 
rangements — for any one used in one part of a speech 
may be combined with any other in some different 
portion — the plan should always be determined by 
three fundamental matters; the material itself, the 
audience to which it is to be presented, and the effect 
the speaker wants to produce. 

Even during this preliminary planning of the speech 
the author must be" careful that when his arrangement 
is decided upon it possesses the three qualities neces- 
sary to every good composition. These three are 
unity, coherence, and emphasis. 

Unity. Unity explains itself. A speech must be 
about one single thing. A good speech produces one 
result. It induces action upon one single point. It 
allows no turning aside from its main theme. It does 
not stray from the straight and narrow road to pick 
flowers in the adjacent fields, no matter how enticing 
the temptation to loiter may be. In plain terms it 
does not admit as part of its material anything not 
closely and plainly connected with it. It does not 
step aside for everything that crops into the speaker's 
mind. It advances steadily, even when not rapidly. 
It does not " back water." It goes somewhere. 

To preserve unity of impression a speaker must 



PLANNING THE SPEECH 153 

ruthlessly discard all material except that which is 
closely associated with his central intention. He 
must use only that which contributes to his purpose. 
The same temptation to keep unrelated material — 
if it be good in itself — will be felt now as when the 
other unsuitable material was set aside. 

This does not prevent variety and relief. Illus- 
trative and interesting minor sections may be, at times 
must be, introduced. But even by their vividness 
and attractiveness they must help the speech, not 
hinder it. The decorations and ornaments must 
never be allowed to detract from the utility of the 
composition. 

Unity may be damaged by admitting parts not in 
the direct line of the theme. It may be violated by 
letting minor portions become too long. The illus- 
tration may grow so large by the introduction of 
needless details that it makes the listeners forget the 
point it was designed to enforce. Or it may be so 
far-fetched as to bear no real relation to the thread 
of development. Here lies the pitfall of the over- 
worked " funny," story, introduced by " that reminds 
me." Too often it is not humorous enough to justify 
repetition; or — what is worse — it does not fit into 
the circumstances. Another fault of many speakers 
is over-elaboration of expression, not only for non- 
essentials, but in the important passages as well. 
Involved language demands explanation. The at- 
tempts to clear up what should have been simply 
said at first may lead a speaker to devote too many 
words to a single point. 

This matter of unity must not be misunderstood as 



154 PUBLIC SPEAKING 



c in 



prohibiting the inclusion of more than one topic 
a speech. A legislator in urging the repeal of a law 
might have several topics, such as how the law was 
passed, its first operations, its increasing burdens 
upon people, the disappearance of the necessity for 
it, better methods of securing the same or better 
results, etc., yet all grouped about the motivating 
theme of securing the repeal of the law. To em- 
phasize the greatness of a man's career a speaker 
might introduce such topics as his obscure origin, his 
unmarked youth, the spur that stimulated his ambi- 
tion, his early reverses, provided that they contribute 
to the impression intended, to make vivid his real 
achievements. 

In early attempts at delivering speeches don't be 
afraid to pause at certain places to consider whether 
what you are about to say really contributes to the 
unity or destroys it. Aside from helping you to think 
upon your feet, this mental exercise will help your 
speech by making you pause at times — a feature of 
speaking often entirely disregarded by many persons. 

Coherence. The second quality a finished com- 
position should have is coherence. If you know what 
cohere and cohesion mean (perhaps you have met 
these words in science study) you have the germ of 
the term's meaning. It means " stick-together-itive- 
ness." The parts of a speech should be so inter- 
related that every part leads up to all that follows. 
Likewise every part develops naturally from all that 
goes before, as well as what immediately precedes. 
There must be a continuity running straight through 
the material from start to finish. Parts should be 



PLANNING THE SPEECH 155 

placed where they fit best. Each portion should be 
so placed — at least, in thought — that all before 
leads naturally and consistently up to it, and it carries 
on the thread to whatever follows. This prevents 
rude breaks in the development of thought. Skil- 
fully done, it aids the hearer to remember, because so 
easily did the thought in the speech move from one 
point to another, that he can carry the line of its pro- 
gression with him long after. So the attainment of 
coherence in a speech contributes directly to that 
desired end — a deep impression. 

Incoherent speeches are so mainly because of ab- 
sence of plan, whether they be short or long, con- 
versational or formal. 

Emphasis. The third quality a speech should have 
is emphasis. Applied to a connected sequence of 
words this means that what is of most importance 
shall stand out most forcefully; that what is not so 
important shall show its subordinate relation by its 
position, its connection with what goes before and 
after; that what is least important shall receive no 
emphasis beyond its just due. Such manipulation 
requires planning and rearranging, careful weighing 
of the relative importance of all portions. Recall 
what was said of the place of the most important 
part. 

Throughout the speech there must also be variety 
of emphasis. It would not be fitting to have every- 
thing with a forceful emphasis upon it. To secure 
variation in emphasis you must remember that in 
speeches the best effects will be made upon audiences 
by offering them slight relief from too close attention 



156 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

or too impressive effects. If you observe the plans 
finally followed by good speakers you will be able to 
see that they have obeyed this suggestion. They 
have the power to do what is described as " swaying 
the audience." In its simplest form this depends 
upon varying the emphasis. 

In making an appeal for funds for destitute por- 
tions of Europe a telling topic would surely be the 
sufferings of the needy. Would it be wise to dwell 
upon such horrors only? Would a humorous anecdote 
of the happy gratitude of a child for a cast-off toy be 
good to produce emphasis? Which would make the 
most emphatic ending — the absolute destitution, 
the amount to be supplied, the relief afforded, or the 
happiness to donors for sharing in such a worthy 
charity? You can see how a mere mental planning, 
or a shuffling of notes, or a temporary numbering of 
topics will help in clearing up this problem of how to 
secure proper and effective emphasis. 

Making the First Plan. It would be a helpful 
thing at this point in the planning to make a pencil 
list of the topics to be included. This is not a final 
outline but a mere series of jottings to be changed, 
discarded, and replaced as the author considers his 
material and his speech. It is hardly more than an 
informal list, a scrap of paper. In working with it, 
don't be too careful of appearances. Erase, cross 
out, interline, write in margins, draw lines and arrows 
to carry portions from one place to another, crowd 
in at one place, remove from another, cut the paper 
sheets, paste in new parts, or pin slips together. Man- 
ipulate your material. Mold it to suit your purposes. 



PLANNING THE SPEECH 157 

Make it follow your plan. By this you will secure 
a good plan. If this seems a great deal to do, com- 
pare it with the time and energy required to learn 
how to swim, how to play a musical instrument, how 
to "shoot" in basketball, how to act a part in a play. 

Knowing how to speak well is worth the effort. 
Every time you plan a speech these steps will merge 
into a continuous process while you are gathering the 
material. In informal discussion upon topics you 
are familiar with, you will become able to arrange 
a plan while you are rising to your feet. 

Transitions. As this preliminary plan takes its 
form under your careful consideration of the material 
you will decide that there are places between topics 
or sections which will require bridging over in order 
to attain coherence and emphasis. These places of 
division should be filled by transitions. A transition 
is a passage which carries over the meaning from 
what precedes to what follows. It serves as a con- 
necting link. It prevents the material from falling 
apart. It preserves the continuity of ideas. A tran- 
sition may be as short as a single word, such as how- 
ever, consequently, nevertheless. It may be a sentence. 
It may grow into a paragraph. 

The purpose of transitions — to link parts together 
— may induce beginners to consider them as of little 
importance since they manifestly add no new ideas 
to the theme. This opinion is entirely erroneous. 
Even in material for reading, transitions are necessary. 
In material to be received through the ear they are 
the most valuable helps that can be supplied to have 
the listener follow the development. They mark the 



158 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

divisions for him. They show that a certain section 
is completed and a new one is about to begin. They 
show the relation in meaning of two portions. 

The shorter forms of transitions — words and 
phrases — belong rather to the expression, the lan- 
guage, of the speech than to this preliminary planning. 

A speaker should never fail to use such phrases as 
on the other hand, continuing the same line of reasoning, 
passing to the next point, from a different point of view, 
because they so clearly indicate the relation of two 
succeeding passages of a speech. 

In planning, the speaker frequently has to consider 
the insertion of longer transitions — paragraphs or 
even more extended passages. Just how such links 
appear in finished speeches the following extracts 
show. In the first selection Washington when he 
planned his material realized he had reached a place 
where he could conclude. He wanted to add more. 
What reason should he offer his audience for violating 
the principle discussed in the chapter on conclusions? 
How could he make clear to them his desire to con- 
tinue? We cannot assert that he actually did this, 
but he might have jotted down upon the paper bearing 
a first scheme of his remarks the phrase, " my solicitude 
for the people." That, then, was the germ of his 
transition paragraph. Notice how clearly the meaning 
is expressed. Could any hearer fail to comprehend? 
The transition also announces plainly the topic of the 
rest of the speech. 

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your 
welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the appre- 
hension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me on 






PLANNING THE SPEECH 159 

an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn con- 
templation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some 
sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no 
inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all- 
important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. 
These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you 
can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting 
friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias 
his counsels. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, 
your indulgent reception of my sentiment on a former and 
not dissimilar occasion. 

George Washington: Farewell Address, 1796 

The next selection answers to a part of the plan 
announced in a passage already quoted in this chapter. 
Notice how this transition looks both backward and 
forward: it is both retrospective and anticipatory. 
If you recall that repetition helps to emphasize facts, 
you will readily understand why a transition is es- 
pecially valuable if it adheres to the same language 
as the first statement of the plan. In a written scheme 
this might have appeared under the entry, " pass 
from 1 to 2; list 4 apologies for crime." This sug- 
gests fully the material of the passage. 

And with this exposure I take my leave of the Crime 
against Kansas. Emerging from all the blackness of this 
Crime, where we seem to have been lost, as in a savage wood, 
and turning our backs upon it, as upon desolation and death, 
from which, while others have suffered, we have escaped, 
I come now to the Apologies which the Crime has found. . . . 

They are four in number, and fourfold in character. The 
first is the Apology tyrannical; the second, the Apology im- 
becile; the third, the Apology absurd; and the fourth, the 
Apology infamous. That is all. Tyranny, imbecility, ab- 



160 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

surdity, and infamy all unite to dance, like the weird sisters, 
about this Crime. 

The Apology tyrannical is founded on the mistaken act 
of Governor Reeder, in authenticating the Usurping Legis- 
lature, etc. 

Charles Sumner: The Crime against Kansas, 1856 

The beginning speaker should not hesitate to make 
his transitions perfectly clear to his audience. When 
they add to the merely bridging use the additional 
value of serving as short summaries of what has gone 
before and as sign posts of what is to follow, they are 
trebly serviceable. The attempt to be clear will 
seldom be waste of time or effort. The obvious state- 
ments of the preceding selections, the use of figures, 
are excellent models for speakers to imitate. With 
practice will come skill in making transitions of dif- 
ferent kinds, in which the same purposes will be served 
in various other ways, in what may be considered 
more finished style. The next extracts represent 
this kind of transition. 

Sir, like most questions of civil prudence, this is neither 
black nor white, but gray. The system of copyright has 
great advantages and great disadvantages; and it is our 
business to ascertain what these are, and then to make an 
arrangement under which the advantages may be as far as 
possible secured, and the disadvantages as far as possible 
excluded. The charge which I bring against my honorable 
and learned friend's bill is this, that it leaves the advantages 
nearly what they are at present, and increases the disad- 
vantages at least fourfold. 

Thomas B. Macaulay: Copyright Bill, 1841 



PLANNING THE SPEECH 161 

One-third of the population of the South is of the Negro 
race. No enterprise seeking the material, civil, or moral 
welfare of this section can disregard this element of our 
population and reach the highest success. I but convey to 
you, Mr. President and Directors, the sentiment of the masses 
of my race when I say that in no way have the value and 
manhood of the American Negro been more fittingly and gen- 
erously recognized than by the managers of this magnificent 
Exposition at every stage of its progress. It is a recognition 
that will do more to cement the friendship of the two races 
than any occurrence since the dawn of our freedom. 
Booker T. Washington in a speech at the Atlanta Exposition, 1895 

Thinking before You Speak. While students may 
feel that the steps outlined here demand a great deal 
of preparation before the final speech is delivered, 
the explanation may be given that after all, this care- 
ful preparation merely carries out the homely adage — 
think before you speak. If there were more thinking 
there would be at once better speaking. Anybody can 
talk. The purpose of studying is to make one a 
better speaker. The anticipation of some relief may 
be entertained, for it is comforting to know that after 
one has followed the processes here explained, they 
move more rapidly, so that after a time they may 
become almost simultaneous up to the completion 
of the one just discussed — planning the speech. It 
is also worth knowing that none of this preliminary 
work is actually lost. Nor is it unseen. It appears 
in the speech itself. The reward for all its apparent 
slowness and exacting deliberation is in the clearness, 
the significance of the speech, its reception by the 
audience, its effect upon them, and the knowledge 



162 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

by the speaker himself that his efforts are producing 
results in his accomplishments. 

All speakers plan carefully for speeches long in 
advance. 

A famous alumnus of Yale was invited to attend 
a banquet of Harvard graduates. Warned that he 
must "speak for his dinner " he prepared more than 
a dozen possible beginnings not knowing of course, 
in what manner the toastmaster would call upon him. 
The remainder of his speech was as carefully planned, 
although not with so many possible choices. Note 
that from each possible opening to the body of the 
speech he had to evolve a graceful transition. 

Edmund Burke, in his great speech on conciliation 
with the American colonies, related that some time 
before, a friend had urged him to speak upon this 
matter, but he had hesitated. True, he had gone 
so far as to throw "my thoughts into a sort of par- 
liamentary form " — that is, he made a plan or an 
outline, but the passage of a certain bill by the Hones 
of Commons seemed to have taken away forever the 
chance of his using the material. The bill, however, 
was returned from the House of Lords with an amend- 
ment and in the resulting debate he delivered the 
speech he had already planned. 

Daniel Webster said that his reply to Hayne had 
been lying in his desk for months already planned, 
merely waiting the opportunity or need for its delivery. 

Henry Ward Beecher, whose need for preliminary 
preparation was reduced to its lowest terms, and who 
himself was almost an instantaneous extemporizer, 
recognized the need for careful planning by young 



PLANNING THE SPEECH 163 

speakers and warned them against "the temptation 
to slovenliness in workmanship, to careless and in- 
accurate statement, to repetition, to violation of good 
taste." 

Slovenliness in planning is as bad as slovenliness 
in expression. 

EXERCISES 

Choose any topic suggested in this book. Make a short 
preliminary plan of a speech upon it. Present it to the class. 
Consider it from the following requirements: 

1. Does it show clearly its intention? 

2. How long will the speech be? 

3. Too long? Too short? 

4. For what kind of audience is it intended? 

5. Has it unity? 

6. Has it coherence? 

7. Where are transitions most clearly needed? 

8. What suggestions would you make for rearranging 
any parts? 

9. What reasons have you for these changes? 
10. Is proper emphasis secured? 



CHAPTER VIII 
MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 

Orderly Arrangement. A speech should have an 
orderly arrangement. The effect upon an audience 
will be more easily made, more deeply impressed, more 
clearly retained, if the successive steps of the develop- 
ment are so well marked, so plainly related, that they 
may be carried away in a hearer's understanding. It 
might be said that one test of a good speech is the 
vividness with which its framework is discernible. 
Hearers can repeat outlines of certain speeches. Those 
are the best. Of others they can give merely confused 
reports. These are the badly constructed ones. 

The way to secure in the delivered speech this 
delight of orderly arrangement is by making an out- 
line or brief. Most pupils hate to make outlines. 
The reason for this repugnance is easily understood. 
A teacher directs a pupil to make an outline before 
he writes a composition or delivers a speech. The 
pupil spends hours on the list of entries, then submits 
his finished theme or address. He feels that the out- 
line is disregarded entirely. Sometimes he is not even 
required to hand it to the instructor. He considers 
the time he has spent upon the outline as wasted. It 
is almost impossible to make him feel that his finished 
product is all the better because of this effort spent 
upon the preliminary skeleton, so that in reality his 
outline is not disregarded at all, but is judged and 

164 






MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 165 

marked as embodied in the finished article. Most 
students carry this mistaken feeling about outlines 
to such an extent that when required to hand in both 
an outline and a finished composition they will write 
in haphazard fashion the composition first, and then 
from it try to prepare the outline, instead of doing as 
they are told, and making the outline first. It is easier 
— though not as educating or productive of good 
results — to string words together than it is to do 
what outline-making demands — to think. 

Professional Writers' Use of Outlines. Profes- 
sional writers realize the helpfulness of outline-making 
and the time it saves. Many a magazine article has 
been sold before a word of the finished manuscript 
was written. The contributor submitted an outline 
from which the editor contracted for the finished 
production. Many a play has been placed in the 
same form. Books are built up in the same manner. 
The ubiquitous moving-picture scenario is seldom 
produced in any other manner. 

Macaulay advised a young friend who asked how 
to keep his brain active to read a couple of solid books, 
making careful outlines of their material at the same 
time. One of these should be — if possible — a 
work in a foreign tongue, so that the strangeness of 
the language would necessitate slow, careful reading 
and close thinking. All good students know that 
the best way to prepare for an examination is to make 
outlines of all the required reading and study. 

It is just because the making of the outline demands 
such careful thinking that it is one of the most im- 
portant steps in the production of a speech. 



166 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

The Outline in the Finished Speech. If the out- 
line really shows in the finished speech, let us see if 
we can pick the entries out from a portion of one. 
Edmund Burke in 1775 tried to prevent Great Britain 
from using coercive measures against the restive 
American colonies. Many Englishmen were already 
clamoring for war when Burke spoke in Parliament 
upon conciliating the Colonies. 

I am sensible, Sir, that all which I have asserted in my 
detail, is admitted in the gross; but that quite a different 
conclusion is drawn from it. America, gentlemen say, is a 
noble object. It is an object well worth fighting for. Cer- 
tainly it is, if fighting a people be the best way of gaining 
them. Gentlemen in this respect will be led to their choice 
of means by their complexions and their habits. Those who 
understand the military art, will of course have some pre- 
dilection for it. Those who wield the thunder of the state, 
may have more confidence in the efficacy of arms. But I 
confess, possibly for want of this knowledge, my opinion is 
much more in favor of prudent management, than of force; 
considering force not as an odious, but a feeble instrument, 
for preserving a people so numerous, so active, so growing, 
so spirited as this, in a profitable and subordinate connexion 
with us. 

First, Sir, permit me to observe, that the use of force 
alone is but temporary. It may subdue for a moment; but 
it does not remove the necessity of subduing again; and a 
nation is not governed which is perpetually to be conquered. 

My next objection is its uncertainty. Terror is not al- 
ways the effect of force; and an armament is not a victory. 
If you do not succeed, you are without resource; for, con- 
ciliation failing, force remains; but, force failing, no further 
hope of reconciliation is left. Power and authority are some- 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 167 

times bought by kindness; but they can never be begged as 
alms by an impoverished and defeated violence. 

A further objection to force is, that you impair the object 
by your very endeavors to preserve it. The thing you 
fought for is not the thing which you recover; but depre- 
ciated, sunk, wasted, and consumed in the contest. Nothing 
less will content me, than whole America. I do not choose 
to consume its strength along with our own; because in all 
parts it is the British strength that I consume. I do not 
choose to be caught by a foreign enemy at the end of this 
exhausting conflict, and still less in the midst of it. I may 
escape; but I can make no assurance against such an event. 
Let me add, that I do not choose wholly to break the 
American spirit; because it is the spirit that has made the 
country. 

Lastly, we have no sort of experience in favor of force 
as an instrument in the rule of our colonies. Their growth 
and their utility has been owing to methods altogether dif- 
ferent. Our ancient indulgence has been said to be pursued 
to a fault. It may be so. But we know if feeling is evi- 
dence that our fault was more tolerable than our attempt 
to mend it; and our sin far more salutary than our penitence. 

These, Sir, are my reasons for not entertaining that 
high opinion of untried force, by which many gentlemen, 
for whose sentiments in other particulars I have great 
respect, seem to be so greatly captivated. But there is still 
behind a third consideration concerning this object, which 
serves to determine my opinion on the sort of policy which 
ought to be pursued in the management of America, even 
more than its population and its commerce, I mean its 
temper and character. 

Edmund Burke: Conciliation with America, 1775 

Reconstructing the Outline. In the preliminary 
arrangement Burke knew that he was going to give 



168 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

his reasons against the use of military force. In his 
first plan he may not have decided just where he was 
going to place his four arguments. So they very likely 
appeared as four topic entries: 

Against use of force. 

1. temporary 

2. uncertain 

3. damages America 

4. no experience 

Notice that these are jottings to suggest the germs 
of the arguments. When Burke revised this section 
he may have changed the expression to indicate more 
certainty. 

Force should not be used against the colonies, because: 

1. it is only temporary 

2. it is uncertain in its results 

3. it would damage the wealth of the colonies 

4. it is based on no experience of Great Britain with 

colonies 

Of course, a practised statesman would not have to 
analyze farther, perhaps not so far, but to illustrate 
for a student how he might build up his outline, let 
us analyze one degree farther. Just what is meant 
by such terms as temporary, uncertain? Under each 
statement, then, might be added a detailed explana- 
tion. The finished part of the outline would then 
appear somewhat like this. 

Force should not be used against the colonies, because: 
1. it is only temporary, for 

a. though it subdue for a time, it would have to 
be used again. 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 169 

%'. it is uncertain in its results, for 

a. Great Britain might not subdue the colonies. 

3. it would damage the wealth of the colonies, for 

a. we would fight to retain a wealthy land, yet 
after the war we should have a ruined one. 

4. it is based on no experience of Great Britain with 

colonies, for 
a. Great Britain has always been indulgent 
rather than severely strict. 

Speaking or writing from such a detailed outline 
as this, consider how much thinking has already been 
done. With these entries under his eye the speaker 
need think only of the phrasing of his remarks. He 
would feel perfectly certain that he would not wander 
from his theme. Notice how the ideas can be em- 
phasized. The suggestion of damage can be expressed 
in impair the object, and in depreciated, sunk, wasted, 
consumed. 

So far this outline — though it covers all its own 
material — does not indicate the place at which it 
shall be used in the speech. It could be used near 
the conclusion where Burke planned to answer all the 
supporters of plans other than his own. That would 
be a good place for jt. But Burke found a better one. 
He separated this from his other remarks against his 
opponents, and brought it in much earlier, thereby 
linking it with what it most concerned, emphasizing it, 
and disposing of it entirely so far as his speech was 
concerned. He had just enumerated the wealth of 
the colonies as represented by their commerce. He 
knew that the war party would argue, " If America is 
so wealthy, it is worth fighting for." That was the 



170 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






place, then, to refute them. To introduce his ma- 
terial he had to make clear the transition from the 
colonial wealth to his arguments. Notice how plainly 
the first paragraph quoted here does this. Having 
given his four reasons against the use of force, notice 
that he must bring his audience back to the theme 
he has been discussing. The last paragraph does 
this in a masterly manner. He has cited two facts 
about the colonies. To make understanding doubly 
certain he repeats them — population and commerce 
— and passes to the next, plainly numbering it as the 
third. 

This recital of the process is not an account of what 
actually took place in Burke's preparation, but it will 
give to the student the method by which great speakers 
may have proceeded; we do know that many did 
follow such a scheme. No amateur who wants to 
make his speeches worth listening to should omit this 
helpful step of outline or brief making. Whether he 
first writes out his speeches in full, or composes them 
upon his feet, every speaker should prepare an out- 
line or brief of his material. This is a series of entries, 
so condensed and arranged as to show the relative 
significance of all the parts of the speech in the proper 
order of development. 

Outline, Brief, Legal Brief. An outline contains 
entries which are merely topics, not completed state- 
ments or sentences. 

A brief contains completed statements (sentences). 

A legal brief is a formally prepared document (often 
printed) submitted to a certain court before a case is 
tried, showing the material the lawyer intends to pro- 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 171 

duce, citing all his authorities, suggesting interpreta- 
tions of laws and legal decisions to support his con- 
tentions, and giving all his conclusions. It is prepared 
for the use of the court, to reduce the labor in examin- 
ing records, etc. Practice in the drawing up of such 
briefs is an important phase of legal study. 

The Outline. An outline may recall to a person's 
mind what he already has learned, but it is seldom 
definite and informative enough to be as helpful as a 
brief. A good distinction of the two — besides the 
one respecting the forms already given — is that the 
outline represents the point of view of the speaker 
while the brief represents that of the hearer. Con- 
sider again the analyses of Burke in this chapter. 
Notice that the first list does not give nearly so clear 
an idea of what Burke actually said as the third. A 
person seeing only the first might guess at what the 
speaker intended to declare. A person who looked 
at the third could not fail to know exactly the opinions 
of the speaker and the arguments supporting them. 

Pupils frequently make this kind of entry: 

Introduction — Time 
Place 
Characters 



The main objections to such an outline are that it 
tells nothing definite, and that it might fit a thousand 
compositions. Even an outline should say more than 
such a list does. 



172 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

In one edition of Burke's speech the page from which 
the following is quoted is headed " Brief." Is it a 
brief? 



Part II. 


How to deal with America. 


A. 


Introduction. 


B. 


First alternative and objections. 


C. 


Second alternative and objections. 


D. 


Third alternative. 


E. 


Introduction. 


F. 


Considerations. 




1. Question one of policy, not of abstract 




right. 




2. Trade laws. 




3. Constitutional precedents. 




4. Application of these. 



The Brief. One of the shortest briefs on record 
was prepared by Abraham Lincoln for use in a suit 
to recover $200 for the widow of a Revolutionary 
veteran from an agent who had retained it out of 
$400 pension money belonging to her. It formed the 
basis of his speech in court. 

No contract. — Not professional services. — Unreason- 
able charge. — Money retained by Deft not given to 
Pl'ff. — Revolutionary War. — Describe Valley Forge pri- 
vations. — Pl'ff's husband. — Soldier leaving for army. — 
Skin Deft — Close. 

The following will give some idea of the form and 
definiteness of briefs for debate. 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 173 

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT 

Resolved: That capital punishment should be abolished. 1 

Brief for the Affirmative 

I. Capital punishment is inexpedient. 

(a) It is contrary to the tendency of civilization. 
(6) It fails to protect society. 

(1) It does not prevent murder. 

(2) New crimes follow hard on executions. 

(c) It makes punishment uncertain. 

(1) Many criminals are acquitted who would 
be convicted if the penalty were im- 
prisonment. 

(d) It is not reformatory. 

II. Capital punishment is immoral. 

(a) It rests on the old idea of retribution. 

(b) It tends to weaken the sacredness of human life. 
(c.) It endangers the lives of innocent people. 

(d) Executions and the sensational newspaper ac- 
counts which follow have a corrupting in- 
fluence. 
III. Capital punishment is unjust. 

(a) Its mistakes are irremediable. 

(b) Many men are criminals from force of circum- 

stances. 

(1) From heredity. 

(2) From environment. 

(c) Inequalities in administration are marked. 

(1) In some states men are hung, in others 
imprisoned for the same crime. 

1 Taken from Brookings and Ringwalt: Briefs for Debate, Longmans, 
Green and Co., where specific references of material for many of the topics 
are given, as well as general references for the entire subject. 



174 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

(2) Many jurors have conscientious scruples 

against condemning a man to death. 

(3) Men of wealth and influence are rarely 

convicted. 
IV. The abolition of capital punishment has been followed 
by satisfactory results, 
(a) In Europe. 



go 



(1) 


Russia. 


(2) 


Switzerland. 


(3) Portugal. 


(4) Belgium. 


(5) 


Holland. 


(6) 


Finland. 


In the United States. 


(i) 


Michigan. 


(2) 


Rhode Island. 


(3) 


Maine. 


(4) 


Wisconsin. 



Brief for the Negative 

I. Capital punishment is permissible. 

(a) It has the sanction of the Bible. 

(1) Genesis ix, 2-6. 

(b) It has the sanction of history. 

(1) It has been in vogue since the beginning 
of the world. 

(c) It has the sanction of reason. 

(1) The most fitting punishment is one equal 
and similar to the injury inflicted. 
II. Capital punishment is expedient. 

(a) It is necessary to protect society from anarchy 
and private revenge. 
(1) Death is the strongest preventative of 
crime. 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 175 

(6) No sufficient substitute has been offered. 

(1) Life imprisonment is a failure. 

(2) Few serve the sentence. 

(c) Its abolition has not been successful. 

(1) In Rhode Island. 

(2) In Michigan. 

III. The objections made to capital punishment are not 
sound. 

(a) Prisons are not reformatory. 

(b) The fact that crimes have decreased in some 

places where executions have stopped is 
not a valid argument. 
(1) All causes which increase the moral well- 
being of the race decrease crime. 

(c) The objection that the innocent suffer is not 

strong. 
(1) The number of innocent thus suffering is 
inconsiderable when compared with the 
great number of murders prevented. 

(d) The objection that the penalty is uncertain may 

be overcome by making it certain. 

A few paragraphs back it was said that an outline 
or brief shows the relative significance of all the parts 
of a speech. This is done by a systematic use of 
margins and symbols. From the quoted forms in 
this chapter certain rules can easily be deduced. 

Margins. The speech will naturally divide into a 
few main parts. These can be designated by spaces 
and general titles such as introduction, body, develop- 
ment, main argument, answer to opposing views, 
conclusion. Other captions will be suggested by 
various kinds of material. Main topics next in im- 
portance are placed the farthest to the left, making 



176 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






the first margin. A reader can run his eye down this 
line and pick out all the main topics of equal importance. 
Entries just subordinate to these are put each on a 
separate line, starting slightly to the right. This separa- 
tion according to connection and value is continued as 
long as the maker has any minor parts to represent in 
the brief. It should not be carried too far, however, 
for the purpose of the entries is to mark clearness and 
accuracy. If the helping system becomes too elab- 
orate and complicated it destroys its own usefulness. 
It is perfectly plain that such an outline might be 
made and be quite clear, without the addition of any 
symbols at all, especially if it was short. 

Discrimination in the use of words is secured by 
The study of synonyms 
antonyms 
homonyms 
and care in employing them. 

Symbols. Some scheme of marking the entries is 
a great help. There is no fixed system. Every 
student may choose from among the many used. If 
there are many main topics it might be a mistake to 
use Roman numerals (I, XVIII) as few people can 
read them quickly enough to follow their sequence. 
Capital letters may serve better to mark the sequences, 
but they do not indicate the numerical position. For 
instance, most of us do not know our alphabets well 
enough to translate a main topic marked N into the 
fourteenth point. By combinations of Roman num- 
erals, capitals, usual (Arabic) numerals, small letters, 
parentheses, enough variety to serve any student 
purpose can easily be arranged. 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 177 

The following are samples of systems used. 
Specimen 1 
Introduction 
Argument 



I 



II 



(1) 
(2) 

(3) 



2 
B 



Conclusion 

Specimen 



1 
2 

b 

II 



a 

6 — 

c 

1 

2 



178 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Specimen 3 






l 1 
3 1 



1* 

3 2 



is 

£3 

Tabulations. With unusual kinds of material and 
for special purposes there may be value in evolving 
other forms of outlines. A technically trained person 
accustomed to reading tabulated reports with hosts 
of figures to interpret might find a statistical state- 
ment at times better suited to his needs. Such tabu- 
lations are not any easier to prepare than the regular 
brief. In fact to most people they are infinitely more 
difficult to get into form and almost beyond speedy 
comprehension afterwards. The following is a good 
illustration of a simple one well adapted to the speaker's 
purpose — a report of the objections to the first pub- 
lished covenant of the League of Nations. He knew 
the material of his introduction and conclusion so 
well that he did not represent them in his carefully 
arranged sheet. The form was submitted as regular 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 179 

work in a public speaking class and was spoken from 
during more than forty minutes. 

Criticisms of Proposed Covenant of League of Nations 

1. — Draft indefinite and loosely written. Lg Lo Sp Tt Br Hu 

2. — Should have clause-limiting powers 

to those specifically granted. Eo 

3. — Proportion of votes required for ac- 

tion of Council not generally 

stated — should be unanimous. Lg Sp Tt Hu 

4. — Should have clause reserving the 

Monroe Doctrine. Lg Lo Sp Tt Br Hu 

5. — Should state that no nation can be 

required to become a manda- 
tory without its consent. Lg Lo Br Hu 

6. — Should have provision for with- 

drawals. Lg Lo Sp Tt Hu 

7. — Jurisdiction of League over internal 

affairs (immigration, tariffs, 
coastwise trade) should be ex- 
pressly excluded. Lg Br Hu 

8. — Terms of admission of other nations 

too strict. Br 

9. — Basis of representation not fair. Br 

10. — Provision should be made for ex- 

pansion of nations by peaceable 

means. Br 

11. — Each nation should have right to 

decide whether it will follow 
advice of Council as to use of 
force. Br 

12. — Each nation should have right to 

determine whether it will boy- 
cott delinquent nations. Br 
Note: — items 11 and 12 are ap- 
parently directed against Art. 
XVI containing the Ipso Facto 
clause and Art. X. 

13. — Should not guarantee the integrity 

and independence of ah mem- 
bers of the league. Lg Hu 



180 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Above criticisms taken from published statements of 
Messrs. Lodge 
Lowell 
Spencer 
Taft 
Bryan 
Hughes 
(denoted respectively Lg, Lo, Sp, Tt, Br and Hu) . 

Authorities in the Brief. Authorities for the state- 
ments made in the brief may be put into parentheses, 
if they are to be included. Such further devices will 
suggest themselves to students. In addition to such 
markings as here listed, some men who use many 
outlines emphasize upon them details which they may 
have to find quickly by underlining the symbol or 
first word with colored pencil. Such a device is es- 
pecially valuable to a technical expert whose system 
could be uniform through the outlines of all his reports, 
etc. Or a lecturer with so much time to fill may mark 
upon the outline 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, to indicate to himself 
that his material is being covered at a proper rate 
to correspond with the time. He might put in 15 
min. or 30 min. or Ifi min. if he was to speak for an 
hour. The first division is the better, for he might 
be required to condense a twenty-minute speech 
to ten. 

Selections for Briefing. Before the student makes 
many briefs of his own he should work in the other 
direction by outlining material already in existence 
so that he can be assured he knows main topics from 
minor ones, important issues from subordinate reasons, 
headings from examples. If all the members of the 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 181 

class outline the same material the resulting discussion 
will provide additional exercise in speaking in explana- 
tion or support of an interpretation. After the teacher 
and class together have made one, the students should 
work independently. 

EXERCISES 

Besides the extracts quoted here others should be supplied. 
Editorials from a single issue of a newspaper can easily be 
secured by the entire class for this work. A chapter from a 
book may be assigned. 

1. Incidents of Government Trading 

An expert before the President's street railway com- 
mission of inquiry testified that he disapproved of public 
ownership and operation theoretically, but approved it 
practically, because it was the quickest and surest way of 
making people sick of it. Otherwise he thought that edu- 
cation of the public out of its favor for high costs and low 
profits by public utilities would require a generation, and 
the present emergency calls for prompt relief. 

New York City has just resolved to build with its own 
funds a Coney Island bathhouse, and has on file an offer 
to build it with private money at a cost of $300,000, with a 
guarantee of 15-cent baths. Accepting no responsibility 
for the merits of the private bidder's proposal, it does not 
appear likely that the city can supply cheaper baths or give 
more satisfaction to bathers than a management whose 
profits were related to its efforts to please patrons. On the 
other hand, it is sure that the city's financial embarrassment 
is due to supplying many privileges at the cost of the tax- 
payers, which might have been supplied both more cheaply 



182 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

and better by private enterprise with profit than by the city 
without profit, and with the use of ill-spared public funds. 

New York does not stand alone in these misadventures, 
which are warnings against trading by either local or na- 
tional government. Take, for example, the manner in 
which the army is disposing of its surplus blankets, as 
reported from Boston. A Chicago firm which wished to 
bid was permitted to inspect three samples of varying grades, 
but a guarantee that the goods sold would correspond to 
the samples was refused. The bales could neither be opened 
nor allowed to be opened, nor would information be given 
whether the blankets in the bales were cotton, wool, or 
mixed, whether single or double, whether bed blankets or 
regulation army blankets. The likelihood that the Govern- 
ment will get the worth of its blankets is small. There may 
be unknown reasons for such uncommercial procedure, but 
what shall be said of the fact that at the same time that 
these blankets are being sold the Interior Department is 
asking for bids to supply 10,000 blankets for the Indians? 
The reason for buying more when there is an embarrassing 
over-supply is that the specifications call for the words 
" Interior Department " to be woven into the blankets. 
To an outsider it would seem that the words might be 
indelibly stamped on the old blankets of similar description, 
and that the departure from custom would be better than 
the loss on the old blankets and the increased expenditure 
for the new blankets. 

The reason for mentioning such incidents is that there 
are so many more of which the public never hears. Their 
combined educative effect would be great, but it is wasted 
without publicity. Since the public is not unanimous 
against public ownership and operation, there must be a 
considerable number of persons who are proof against any- 
thing but a catastrophe greater than the prostration of 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 183 

the railway and utility industries. That is an expansive 
way of education, but perhaps Dr. Cooley, Dean of the 
University of Michigan, is right in his view that the method 
is necessary to prevent a greater calamity by persistence 
in the error. 

New York Times, July 21, 1919 

2. Fourscore and seven years ago our Fathers brought 
forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, 
and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created 
equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing 
whether that nation or any nation so conceived or so dedi- 
cated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield 
of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that 
field as a final resting place for those who here gave their 
lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting 
and proper that we should do this. 

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate — we can- 
not consecrate — we cannot hallow this ground. The 
brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have con- 
secrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. 
The world will little note nor long remember what we say 
here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for 
us, the living, rather, to be here dedicated to the unfinished 
work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly 
advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the 
great task remaining before us — that from these honored 
dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which 
they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here 
highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; 
that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of free- 
dom; and that government of the people, by the people, 
for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 

Abraham Lincoln: Gettysburg Address, 1863 



184 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

3. Every thoughtful and unprejudiced mind must see 
that such an evil as slavery will yield only to the most radical 
treatment. If you consider the work we have to do, you 
will not think us needlessly aggressive, or that we dig down 
unnecessarily deep in laying the foundations of our enter- 
prise. A money power of two thousand millions of dollars, 
as the prices of slaves now range, held by a small body of 
able and desperate men; that body raised into a political 
aristocracy by special constitutional provisions; cotton, the 
product of slave labor, forming the basis of our whole foreign 
commerce, and the commercial class thus subsidized; the 
press bought up, the pulpit reduced to vassalage, the heart 
of the common people chilled by a bitter prejudice against 
the black race; our leading men bribed, by ambition, either 
to silence or open hostility; — in such a land, on what shall 
an Abolitionist rely? On a few cold prayers, mere lip- 
service, and never from the heart? On a church resolution, 
hidden often in its records, and meant only as a decent 
cover for servility in daily practice? On political parties, 
with their superficial influence at best, and seeking ordinarily 
only to use existing prejudices to the best advantage? 
Slavery has deeper root here than any aristocratic institu- 
tion has in Europe; and politics is but the common pulse- 
beat, of which revolution is the fever-spasm. Yet we have 
seen European aristocracy survive storms which seemed to 
reach down to the primal strata of European life. Shall we, 
then, trust to mere politics, where even revolution has 
failed? How shall the stream rise above its fountain? 
Where shall our church organizations or parties get strength 
to attack their great parent and moulder, the slave power? 
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast 
thou made me thus? The old jest of one who tried to lift 
himself in his own basket, is but a tame picture of the man 
who imagines that, by working solely through existing sects 






MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 185 

and parties, he can destroy slavery. Mechanics say nothing, 
but an earthquake strong enough to move all Egypt can 
bring down the pyramids. 

Experience has confirmed these views. The Aboli- 
tionists who have acted on them have a " short method " 
with all unbelievers. They have but to point to their own 
success, in contrast with every other man's failure. To 
waken the nation to its real state, and chain it to the con- 
sideration of this one duty, is half the work. So much have 
we done. Slavery has been made the question of this gen- 
eration. To startle the South to madness, so that every 
step she takes, in her blindness, is one step more toward 
ruin, is much. This we have done. Witness Texas and 
the Fugitive Slave Law. 

Wendell Phillips: The Abolition Movement, 1853 

4. Until just a few years ago flying was popularly 
regarded as a dangerous hobby and comparatively few had 
faith in its practical purposes. But the phenomenal evolu- 
tions of the aircraft industry during the war brought progress 
which would otherwise have required a span of years. With 
the cessation of hostilities considerable attention has been 
diverted to the commercial uses of aircraft, which may con- 
veniently be classified as mail- and passenger-service. 

Men who first ventured the prediction that postal 
and express matter would one day be carried through the 
air were branded as dreamers. Parts of that dream became 
a reality during 1918, and a more extensive aerial-mail 
program will be adopted this year. The dispatch with 
which important communications and parcels are delivered 
between large cities has firmly established its need. 

Large passenger-carrying aircraft are now receiving 
pronounced attention. Lately developed by the Navy 
is a flying-boat having a wing area of 2,400 square feet, 
equipped with three Liberty motors and weighing 22,000 



186 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

pounds with a full load. It is the largest seaplane in the 
world, and on a recent test-trip from Virginia to New York 
carried fifty-one passengers. At the present moment the 
public is awaiting the thrilling details of the first flight 
between Europe and America, which has just occurred as 
a result of the keen international rivalry involved between 
the various entrants. 

The British are now constructing a super-triplane fitted 
with six 500 horse-power engines. Originally intended 
to carry 10,000 pounds of bombs and a crew of eight 
over a distance of 1 800 miles, the converted machine is 
claimed to be able to carry approximately one hundred 
passengers. It has a wing span of 141 feet and a fuselage 
length of 85 feet. 

What about the power plants of the future aircraft? 
Will the internal-combustion engine continue to reign 
supreme, or will increasing power demands of the huge 
planes to come lead to the development of suitable steam- 
engines? Will the use of petroleum continue to be one of 
the triumphs of aviation, or will the time come when sub- 
stitutes may be successfully utilized? 

For aerial motive-power, the principal requirements 
are: great power for weight with a fairly high factor of 
safety, compactness, reliability of operation under flying 
conditions, and safety from fire. Bulk and weight of steam- 
driven equipment apparently impose severe restrictions 
upon its practical development for present aircraft purposes, 
but who is willing to classify its future use as an absurdity? 

Steam operation in small model airplanes is no in- 
novation. Langley, in 1891-1895, built four model air- 
planes, one driven by carbonic-acid gas and three by steam- 
engines. One of the steam-driven models weighed thirty 
pounds, and on one occasion flew a distance of about three 
thousand feet. In 1913 an Englishman constructed a 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 187 

power plant weighing about two pounds which consisted of 
a flash boiler and single-acting engine. This unit employed 
benzolin, impure benzine, as fuel, and propelled a model 
plane weighing five pounds. 

Power Plant Engineering, Chicago, June 1, 1919 

y Making a Brief. The next step after making out- 
lines or briefs of material already organized is to make 
your own from material you gather. Speeches you 
have already prepared or considered as fit for presenta- 
tion will supply you with ideas if you cannot work up 
new material in a short time. At first you will be 
more concerned with the form than the meaning of the 
entries, but even from the first you should consider 
the facts or opinions for which each topic or statement 
stands. Weigh its importance in the general scheme 
of details. Consider carefully its suitability for the 
audience who may be supposed to hear the finished 
speech. Discard the inappropriate. Replace the 
weak. Improve the indefinite. Re sure your ex- 
amples and illustrations are apt. 

Be wary about statistics. In listening to an address 
many people begin to distrust as soon as figures are 
mentioned. Statistics will illustrate and prove as- 
sertions, but they must be used judiciously. Do not 
use too many statistics. Never be too detailed. In 
a speech, $4,000,000 sounds more impressive than 
$4,232,196.96. Use round numbers. Never let them 
stand alone. Show their relationship. Burke quotes 
exact amounts to show the growth of the commerce of 
Pennsylvania, but he adds that it had increased fifty 
fold. A hearer will forget the numbers; he will 
remember the fact. 



188 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Similar reasons will warn you concerning the use 
of too many dates. They can be easily avoided by 
showing lapses of time — by saying, " fifty years 
later," or " when he was forty-six years old," or " this 
condition was endured only a score of months." 

The chapters on introductions, conclusions, and 
planning material will have suggested certain orders 
for your briefs. Glance back at them for hints before 
you attempt to make the general scheme. Let two 
factors determine your resultant development — the 
nature of the material itself and the effect you want 
to produce. 

In argumentative speeches a usual, as well as ex- 
cellent, order is this: 

1. Origin of the question. The immediate cause for 

discussion. 

2. History of the question. 

3. Definition of terms. 

4. Main arguments. 

5. Conclusion. 

Why is the proposition worth discussing at this present 
time? Why do you choose it? Why is it timely? 
What is its importance? Why is a settlement needed? 
Any of these would fall under the first heading. 

Has the matter engaged atten ion prior to the 
present? Has it changed? Was any settlement ever 
attempted? What was its result? 

Are any of the words and phrases used likely to be 
misunderstood? Are any used in special senses? 
Do all people accept the same meaning? Good il- 
lustrations of this last are the ideas attached to social- 
ism, anarchist, soviet, union. 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF IS9 

To illustrate: the question of woman suffrage was 
brought into public interest once more by the advance 
woman has made in all walks of life and by the needs 
and lessons of the great war. To make clear how its 
importance had increased a speaker might trace its 
history from its first inception. As applied to women, 
what does " suffrage " mean exactly — the right to 
vote in all elections, or only in certain ones? Does it 
carry with it the right to hold office? Would the 
voting qualifications be the same for women as for 
men? Then would follow the arguments. 

How could this scheme be used for a discussion of 
the Monroe Doctrine? For higher education? For 
education for girls? For child working laws? For 
a league of nations? For admitting Asiatic laborers 
to the United States? For advocating the study of 
the sciences? For urging men to become farmers? 
For predicting aerial passenger service? For a scholar- 
ship qualification in athletics? For abolishing rail- 
road grade crossings? For equal wages for men and 
women? 

EXERCISES 

Make the completed brief for one or more of the 
preceding. 

Briefs should be made for propositions selected from 
the following list. 

1. The President of the United States should be elected 
by the direct vote of the people. 

2. The States should limit the right of suffrage to persons 
who can read and write. 

3. The President of the United States should be elected 
for a term of seven years, and be ineligible to reelection. 



190 PUBLIC SPEAKING 



4. A great nation should be made the mandatory over 
an inferior people. 

5. Students should be allowed school credit for outside 
reading in connection with assigned work, or for editing of 
school papers, or for participation in dramatic performances. 

6. This state should adopt the " short ballot." 

7. The present rules of football are unsatisfactory. 

8. Coaching from the bench should be forbidden in base- 
ball. 

9. Compulsory military drill should be introduced into 
all educational institutions. 

10. Participation in athletics lowers the scholarship of 
students. 

11. Pupils should receive credit in school for music 
lessons outside. 

12. The United States should abandon the Monroe 
Doctrine. 

13. In jury trials, a three-fourths vote should be enough 
for the rendering of a verdict. 

14. Strikes are unprofitable. 

15. Commercial courses should be offered in all high 
schools. 

16. Employers of children under sixteen should be 
required to provide at least eight hours of instruction a 
week for them. 

17. Current events should be studied in all history or 
civics courses. 

18. The practice of Christmas giving should be dis- 
continued. 

19. School buildings should be used as social centers. 

20. Bring to class an editorial and an outline of it. Put 
the outline upon the board, or read it to the class. Then 
read the editorial. 



rer 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 191 

Speaking from the Brief. Now that the brief is 
finished so that it represents exactly the material and 
development of the final speech, how shall it be used? 
To use it as the basis of a written article to be mem- 
orized is one method. Many speakers have employed 
such a method, many today do. The drawbacks of 
such memorizing have already been hinted at in an 
early chapter. If you want to grow in mental grasp, 
alertness, and power as a result of your speech training 
avoid this method. No matter how halting your 
first attempts may be, do not get into the seemingly 
easy, yet retarding habit of committing to memory. 
Memorizing has a decided value, but for speech -making 
the memory should be trained for larger matters than 
verbal reproduction. It should be used for the 
retention of facts while the other brain faculties are 
engaged in manipulating them for the best effect and 
finding words to express them forcefully. Memory is 
a helpful faculty. It should be cultivated in connec- 
tion with the powers of understanding and expression, 
but it is not economical to commit a speech verbatim 
for delivery. The remarks will lack flexibility, spon- 
taneity, and often direct appeal. There is a detached, 
mechanical air about a memorized speech which helps 
to ruin it. 

With the outline before you, go over it carefully and 
slowly, mentally putting into words and sentences the 
entries you have inserted. You may even speak it 
half aloud to yourself, if that fixes the treatment more 
firmly in your mind. Then place the brief where you 
can reach it with your eye, and speak upon your feet. 
Some teachers recommend doing this before a mirror, 



192 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






but this is not always any help, unless you are conscious 
of awkward poses or gestures or movements, or facial 
contortions. Say the speech over thus, not only once 
but several times, improving the phraseology each 
time, changing where convenient or necessary, the 
emphasis, the amount of time, for each portion. 

Self-criticism. Try to criticize yourself. This is 
not easy at first, but if you are consistent and persist- 
ent in your efforts you will be able to judge yourself 
in many respects. If you can induce some friend 
whose opinion is worth receiving either to listen to 
your delivery or to talk the whole thing over with you, 
you will gain much. In conference with the teacher 
before your delivery of the speech such help will be 
given. As you work over your brief in this manner 
you will be delighted to discover suddenly that you 
need refer to it less and less frequently. Finally, the 
outline will be in your mind, and when you speak you 
can give your entire attention to the delivery and the 
audience. 

Do not be discouraged if you cannot retain all the 
outline the first times you try this method. Many a 
speaker has announced in his introduction, " I shall 
present four reasons," and often has sat down after 
discussing only three. Until you can dispense entirely 
with the brief keep it near you. Speak from it if you 
need it. Portions which you want to quote exactly 
(such as quotations from authorities) may be mem- 
orized or read. In reading be sure you read remark- 
ably well. Few people can read interestingly before 
a large audience. Keep your papers where you can 
get at them easily. Be careful not to lose your place 



MAKING THE OUTLINE OR BRIEF 193 

so that you will have to shuffle them to get the cue 
for continuing. Pauses are not dangerous when they 
are made deliberately for effect, but they are ruinous 
when they betray to the audience forgetfulness or 
embarrassment on the part of the speaker. Anticipate 
your need. Get your help before you actually need 
it, so that you can continue gracefully. 

Results. This method, followed for a few months, 
will develop speaking ability. It produces results 
suited to modern conditions of all kinds of life. It 
develops practically all the mental faculties and per- 
sonal attributes. It puts the speaker directly in 
touch with his audience. It permits him to adapt his 
material to an occasion and audience. It gives him 
the opportunity to sway his hearers and used legiti- 
mately for worthy ends, this is the most worthy purpose 
of any speech. 



CHAPTER IX 
EXPLAINING 

The part which explanation plays in ail phases of 
life is too apparent to need any emphasis here. It is 
to a great extent the basis of all our daily intercourse, 
from explaining to a teacher why a lesson has not been 
prepared, to painstakingly explaining to a merchant 
why a bill has not been paid. An instructor patiently 
explains a problem to a class, and a merchant explains 
the merits of an article or the operation of a device to 
his customers. The politician explains why he should 
be elected. The financier explains the returns from 
stock and bond purchases. The President explains 
to the Senate the reason for treaty clauses. The 
minister explains the teachings of h:*s faith to his 
congregation. You can make this list as long as the 
varied activities of all life. 

Exposition. This kind of discourse, the purpose of 
which is explanation, is also called exposition. Has 
it any relation to the underlying idea of the term 
exposition as applied to a great exhibition or fair? 
Its purpose is plainly information, the transmission 
of knowledge. While description and narration exist 
primarily to entertain, exposition exists to convey 
information. Description and narration may be classed 
as literature of entertainment; exposition as literature 
of knowledge. It answers such questions as how? 

194 









EXPLAINING 195 

why? for what purpose? in what manner? by what 
method? It can sometimes be used to convince a 
person with opposing views, for frequently you hear 
a man to whom the explanation of a belief has been 
made, exclaim, " Oh, if that's what you mean, I agree 
with you entirely." All instruction, all directions of 
work, all scientific literature, are in foundation ex- 
pository. In its simplest, most disconnected form, 
exposition gives its value to that most essential volume, 
the dictionary. 

Make a list of other kinds of books which are mainly 
or entirely expository in character. 

Difficulties in Exposition. Such are the purpose 
and use of exposition. The difficulty of producing 
good exposition is evident from those two factors. 
As it exists everywhere, as it purposes to inform, its 
first requisite is clearness. Without that quality it 
is as nothing. When you direct a stranger how to 
reach a certain building in your town, of what value are 
your remarks unless they are clear? W T hen a scientist 
writes a treatise on the topic of the immortality of 
man, of what value are his opinions unless his state- 
ments are clear? All the other qualities which prose 
may and should possess sink into subordinate value 
in exposition when compared with clearness. Because 
of all three phases of exposition — its universal use, 
its informative purpose, its essential clarity — ex- 
position is an all-important topic for the consideration 
and practice of the public speaker. In its demand for 
clearness lies also its difficulty. Is it easy to tell the 
exact truth, not as a moral exercise, but merely as a 
matter of exactness? Why do the careless talkers 



196 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

speak so often of "a sort of pink " or "a kind of 
revolving shaft " or tack on at the end of phrases the 
meaningless " something " or " everything " except 
that even in their unthinking minds there is the hazy 
impression — they really never have a well-defined 
idea — that they have not said exactly what they 
want to say? 

Clear Understanding. Here then is the first requisite 
for the public speaker. He must have no hazy im- 
pressions, no unthinking mind, no ill-defined ideas, 
no inexactness. He must have a clear understanding 
of all he tries to tell to others. Without this the words 
of a speaker are as sounding brass and tinkling cym- 
bals. Or he may deliver a great roar of words signify- 
ing nothing. This is the fault with most recitations of 
pupils in school — they do not get a clear understand- 
ing of the material assigned to them for mastery. As 
a test of the degree of understanding, the recitation 
method serves admirably. The lecture method of 
instruction — clear though the presentation may be — 
offers no manner of finding out, until the final examina- 
tion, how much the pupil actually understands. So 
far, in public speaking, the only way of learning that 
the student understands the principles and can apply 
them is to have him speak frequently to indicate his 
ability. Can you not name among your associates 
and friends those whose explanations are lucid, con- 
cise, direct, unconfusing, and others whose attempts 
at exposition are jumbled, verbose, unenlightening? 

Have you not criticized certain teachers by remarking 
" they may know their own subjects all right, but they 
couldn't impart their knowledge to the class "? 



EXPLAINING 197 

Command of Language. What was lacking in 
their case? Certainly, to be charitable, we cannot 
say they lacked a clear understanding of their own 
topic. It must have been something else. That 
second element, which is at times almost entirely 
absent when the first is present, is the command of 
language. Many a man knows a great deal but is 
incapable of transmitting his knowledge. He lacks 
the gift of expression. He has not cultivated it — 
for it can be cultivated. The man whose desire or 
vocation forces him to make the effort to speak will 
train himself in methods of communication, until he 
arrives at comfort and fluency. 

The district manager of a large electric company 
related that as he would sit at a meeting of the di- 
rectors or committee of a large corporation and realized 
that the moment was approaching when he would be 
called upon to speak he would feel his senses grow 
confused, a sinking feeling amounting almost to faint- 
ness would sweep over him. Strong in his determina- 
tion to do the best he could for his company he would 
steady his nerves by saying to himself, " You know 
more about this matter than any of these men. That's 
why you are here. Tell them what you know so 
plainly that they will understand as well as you do." 
There was, you see, the reassurance of complete under- 
standing of the subject coupled with the endeavor to 
express it clearly. These two elements, then, are of 
supreme significance to the public speaker. Even to 
the person who desires to write well, they are all- 
important. To the speaker they are omnipresent. 
The effect of these two upon the intellectual develop- 



198 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






ment is marked. The desire for clear understanding 
will keep the mind stored with material to assimilate 
and communicate. It will induce the mind continu- 
ally to manipulate this material to secure clarity in 
presentation. This will result in developing a mental 
adroitness of inestimable value to the speaker, enabling 
him to seize the best method instantaneously and 
apply it to his purposes. At the same time, keeping 
always in view the use of this material as the basis of 
communicating information or convincing by making 
explanations, he will be solicitous about his language. 
Words will take on new values. He will be continually 
searching for new ones to express the exact differences 
of ideas he wants to convey. He will try different 
expressions, various phrases, changed word orders, 
to test their efficacy and appropriateness in trans- 
ferring his meaning to his hearers. Suggestions offered 
in the chapter of this book on words and sentences 
will never cease to operate in his thinking and speak- 
ing. There will be a direct result in his ability as a 
speaker and a reflex result upon his ability as a thinker. 
What is more encouraging, he will realize and appre- 
ciate these results himself, and his satisfaction in doing 
better work will be doubled by the delight in knowing 
exactly how he secured the ends for which he strove. 

Methods of Explaining. In order to make a matter 
clear, to convey information, a speaker has at his 
disposal many helpful ways of arranging his material. 
Not all topics can be treated in all or even any certain 
one of the following manners, but if the student is 
familiar with certain processes he will the more easily 
and surely choose just that one suited to the topic 



EXPLAINING 199 

he intends to explain and the circumstances of his 
exposition. 

Division. One of these methods is by division. A 
speaker may separate a topic or term into the parts 
which comprise it. For instance, a scientist may have 
to list all the kinds of electricity; a Red Cross instructor 
may divide all bandages into their several kinds; an 
athletic coach may have to explain all the branches of 
sports in order to induce more candidates to appear 
for certain events; a banker may have to divide 
financial operations to make clear an advertising 
pamphlet soliciting new lines of business, such as 
drawing up of wills. 

The ability to do this is a valuable mental accom- 
plishment as well as an aid to speaking. In dividing, 
care must be taken to make the separations according to 
one principle for any one class. It would not result in 
clearness to divide all men according to height, and 
at the same time according to color. This would result 
in confusion. Divide according to height first, then 
divide the classes so formed according to color if 
needed — as might be done in military formation. 
Each group, then, must be distinctly marked off 
from all other groups. In scientific and technical 
matters such division may be carried to the extreme 
limit of completeness. Complete division is called 
classification. 

Partition. In non-scientific compositions such com- 
pleteness is seldom necessary. It might even defeat 
the purpose by being too involved, by including too 
many entries, and by becoming difficult to remember. 
Speakers seldom have need of classification, but they 



200 PUBLIC SPEAKING 



often do have to make divisions for purposes of ex 
planation. This kind of grouping is called partition 
It goes only so far as is necessary for the purpose at 
the time. It may stop anywhere short of being com- 
plete and scientifically exact. All members of the 
large class not divided and listed are frequently lumped 
together under a last heading such as all others, mis- 
cellaneous, the rest, those not falling under our present 
examination. 

EXERCISES 

1. Classify games. Which principle will you use for 
your first main division — indoor and outdoor games, or 
winter and summer games, or some other? 

2. Classify the races of men. What principle would 
you use? 

3. How would you arrange the books in a private library? 

4. Classify the forms of theatrical entertainments. Is 
your list complete? 

5. Classify branches of mathematics. The entries may 
total over a hundred. 

6. Classify the pupils in your school. 

7. Classify the people in your school. Is there any 
difference? 

8. Classify the following: 

The political parties of the country. 

Methods of transportation. 

Religions. 

Magazines. 

The buildings in a city. 

Aircraft. 

Desserts. 

Canned goods. 



; 



EXPLAINING 201 

Skill in division is valuable not only as a method of 
exposition but it is linked close y with an effective 
method o proving to be explained in the next chapter 
— the method of residues. Can you recall any ex- 
tracts given in this book in which some form of division 
is used? Is this form of material likely to be more 
important in preparation or in the finished speech? 
Explain your opinion — in other words, present a 
specimen of exposition. 

Definition. One of the simplest ways of explaining 
is to define a term. Dictionary definitions are familiar 
to every one. In a great many instances the dictionary 
definition is by means of synonyms. While this is a 
convenient, easy method it is seldom exact. Why? 
Recall what you learned concerning the meanings of 
synonyms. Do they ever exactly reproduce one 
another's meanings? There is always a slight degree 
of inaccuracy in definition by synonym, sometimes a 
large margin of inexactness. Is the following a good 
definition? 

A visitor to a school began his address: " This morning, 
children, I propose to offer you an epitome of the life of 
St. Paul. It may be perhaps that there are among you 
some too young to grasp the meaning of the word epitome. 
Epitome, children, is in its signification synonymous with 
synopsis! " 

London Tid-Bits 

Logical Definition. An exact definition is supplied 
by the logical definition. In this there are three 
parts — the term to be defined, the class (or genus) 
to which it belongs, and the distinguishing character- 
istics (differentia) which mark it off from all the other 



202 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

members of that same class. You can represent this 
graphically by inclosing the word term in a small circle. 
Around this draw a larger circle in which you write 
the word class. Now what divides the term from the 
class in which it belongs? Indicate the line around 
the term as distinguishing characteristics, and you will 
clearly see how accurate a logical definition is. The 
class should be just larger than the term itself. The 
main difficulty is in finding exact and satisfying dis- 
tinguishing characteristics. There are some terms 
which are so large that no classes can be found for 
them. Others cannot be marked by acceptable dis- 
tinguishing characteristics, so it is not possible to make 
logical definitions for all terms. Consider such words 
as infinity, electricity, gravity, man. 

The words of the definition should be simple, more 
readily understood than the term to be defined. 



Term 


Class 


Distinguishing characteristics 


A biplane 


is an airplane 


with two sets of supporting 
surfaces. 


A waitress 


is a woman 


who serves meals. 


Narration 


is that form of discourse 


which relates events. 


A word 


is a combination of letters 


suggesting an idea. 


A dictionary 


is a book 


of definitions. 


A corporal 


is an army officer 


just higher than a private. 



EXERCISES 

1. Make logical definitions for the following: 

A dynamo A circle A hammer 

A curiosity Lightning A trip-hammer 

Moving picture camera Democracy A lady 

Curiosity An anarchist A Lady 

A door A sky-scraper Man 



EXPLAINING 203 

2. Analyze and comment on the following definitions: 

Man is a two-legged animal without feathers. 

Life is an epileptic fit between two nothings. 

Genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains. 

The picture writings of the ancient Egyptians are 
called hieroglyphics. 

A fly is an obnoxious insect that disturbs you in the 
morning when you want to sleep. 

Real bravery is defeated cowardice. 

A brigantine is a small, two-masted vessel, square 
rigged on both masts, but with a fore-and-aft main- 
sail and the mainmast considerably longer than the 
foremast. 

A mushroom is a cryptogamic plant of the class Fungi; 
particularly the agaricoid fungi and especially the 
edible forms. 

Language is the means of concealing thought. 

A rectangle of equal sides is a square. 

Hyperbole is a natural exaggeration for the purpose of 
emphasis. 

Amplified Definition. While such definitions are 
the first positions from which all interpretations must 
proceed, in actual speech-making explanations of 
terms are considerably longer. Yet the form of the 
true logical definition is always imbedded — in germ 
at least — in the amplified statement. 

Again, democracy will be, in a large sense, individualistic. 
That ideal of society which seeks a disciplined, obedient 
people, submissive to government and unquestioning in its 
acceptance of orders, is not a democratic ideal. You can- 
not have an atmosphere of " implicit obedience to authority " 
and at the same time and in the same place an atmosphere 
of democratic freedom. There is only one kind of discipline 



204 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

that is adequate to democracy and that is self-discipline. 
An observant foreigner has lately remarked, somewhat 
paradoxically, that the Americans seemed to him the best 
disciplined people in the world. In no other country does 
a line form itself at a ticket office or at the entrance to a place 
of amusement with so little disorder, so little delay, and so 
little help from a policeman. In no other country would 
an appeal of the government for self-control in the use of 
food or fuel, for a restriction of hours of business, for " gas- 
less Sundays," have met with so ready, so generous and so 
sufficient a response. Our American lads, alert, adaptable, 
swiftly-trained, self-directed, have been quite the equal 
of the continental soldiers, with their longer technical train- 
ing and more rigorous military discipline. In these respects 
the English, and especially the British colonial soldiers 
have been much like our own. Democracy, whether for 
peace or for war, in America or in England, favors indi- 
viduality. Independence of thought and action on the part 
of the mass of the people are alike the result of democracy 
and the condition of its continuance and more complete 
development, and it is visibly growing in England as the 
trammels of old political and social class control are being 
thrown off. 

Edward P. Chetnet: Historical Tests of Democracy 

What is a constitution? Certainly not a league, com- 
pact, or confederacy, but a fundamental law. That funda- 
mental regulation which determines the manner in which the 
public authority is to be executed, is what forms the con- 
stitution of a state. Those primary rules which concern 
the body itself, and the very being of the political society, 
the form of government, and the manner in which power is 
to be exercised — all, in a word, which form together the 
constitution of a state — these are the fundamental laws. 
This, Sir, is the language of the public writers. But do we 



EXPLAINING 205 

need to be informed, in this country, what a constitution 
is? Is it not an idea perfectly familiar, definite, and well 
settled? We are at no loss to understand what is meant 
by the constitution of one of the States; and the Constitu- 
tion of the United States speaks of itself as being an instru- 
ment of the same nature. 



Daniel Webster: The Constitution Not a Compact 

Sovereign States, 1833 

Particulars of a General Statement. A general 
statement made at the beginning of a paragraph or 
section, serving as the topic sentence, may then be 
explained by breaking the general idea up into details 
and particulars. This may partake of the nature of 
both definition and partition, as the terms may be 
explained and their component parts listed. Note 
that in the following selection the first sentences state 
the topic of the passage which the succeeding sentences 
explain by discussing the phrase variety of evils. 

So likewise a passionate attachment of one nation for 
another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the 
favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary 
common interest, in cases where no real common interest 
exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, be- 
trays the former into a participation in the quarrels and 
wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justifica- 
tion. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of 
privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure 
the nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting 
with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting 
jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties 
from whom equal privileges are withheld, and it gives to 
ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote them- 
selves to the favorite nation), facility to betray, or sacrifice 



2G6 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






the interests of their own country, without odium, some- 
times even with popularity; gilding with the appearances 
of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference 
for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the 
base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption or 
infatuation. 

George Washington: Farewell Address, 1796 

Examples. A statement may be explained by giving 
examples. The speaker must be sure that his example 
fits the case exactly; that it is typical — that is, it 
must serve as a true instance of all cases under the 
statement, not be merely an exception ; that it is per- 
fectly clear; that it impresses the audience as un- 
answerable. The example may be either actual or 
suppositious, but it must illustrate clearly and ac- 
curately. The use of examples is a great aid in ex- 
planation. John C. Calhoun expressed the value very 
distinctly in one of his speeches. 

I know how difficult it is to communicate distinct ideas 
on such a subject, through the medium of general proposi- 
tions, without particular illustration; and in order that I 
may be distinctly understood, though at the hazard of being 
tedious, I will illustrate the important principle which I 
have ventured to advance, by examples. 

By the use of an example he does make himself 
distinctly understood. 

Let us, then, suppose a small community of five persons, 
separated from the rest of the world; and, to make the 
example strong, let us suppose them all to be engaged in 
the same pursuit, and to be of equal wealth. Let us further 
suppose that they determine to govern the community by 
the will of a majority; and, to make the case as strong as 



EXPLAINING 207 

possible, let us suppose that the majority, in order to meet 
the expenses of the government, lay an equal tax, say of 
one hundred dollars on each individual of this little com- 
munity. Their treasury would contain five hundred dollars. 
Three are a majority; and they, by supposition, have con- 
tributed three hundred as their portion, and the other two 
(the minority), two hundred. The three have the right 
to make the appropriations as they may think proper. 
The question is, How would the principle of the absolute 
and unchecked majority operate, under these circumstances, 
in this little community? 

John C. Calhoun: Speech on The Force Bill, 1833 

The example should be taken from the same phase 
of life as the proposition it explains. As Calhoun 
was discussing governmental regulation he supposed 
an example from majority rule. In the next the 
topic is copyright, so the illustration is not taken from 
patents. In introducing your own examples avoid the 
trite, amateurish expression " take, for instance." 

Now, this is the sort of boon which my honorable and 
learned friend holds out to authors. Considered as a boon 
to them, it is a mere nullity; but, considered as an impost 
on the public, it is no nullity, but a very serious and per- 
nicious reality. I will take an example. Dr. Johnson 
died fifty-six years ago. If the law were what my hon- 
orable and learned friend wishes to make it, somebody 
would now have the monopoly of Dr. Johnson's works. 
Who that somebody would be it is impossible to say; but 
we may venture to guess. I guess, then, that it would 
have been some bookseller, who was the assign of another 
bookseller, who was the grandson of a third bookseller, who 
had bought the copyright from Black Frank, the doctor's 
servant and residuary legatee, in 1785 or 1786. Now, 



208 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

would the knowledge that this copyright would exist in 
1841 have been a source of gratification to Johnson? Would 
it have stimulated his exertions? Would it have once drawn 
him out of his bed before noon? Would it have once cheered 
him under a fit of the spleen? Would it have induced him 
to give us one more allegory, one more life of a poet, one 
more imitation of Juvenal? I firmly believe not. I firmly 
believe that a hundred years ago, when he was writing our 
debates for the Gentleman's Magazine, he would very much 
rather have had twopence to buy a plate of shin of beef at 
a cook's shop underground. 

Thomas Babington Macaulat: Copyright, 1841 

Comparison. Unfamiliar matter may be made plain 
by showing how it resembles something already clearly 
understood by the audience. This is comparison. It 
shows how two things are alike. The old geographies 
used to state that the earth is an oblate spheroid, then 
explain that term by comparison with an orange, 
pointing out the essential flattening at the poles. In 
any use of comparison the resemblance must be real, 
not assumed. Many a speaker has been severely 
criticized for his facts because he asserted in com- 
parison similarities that did not exist. 

Contrast. When the differences between two things 
are carefully enumerated the process is termed con- 
trast. This is often used in combination with com- 
parison, for no two things are exactly alike. They 
may resemble each other in nearly all respects, so 
comparison is possible and helpful up to a certain 
limit. To give an exact idea of the remainder the 
differences must be pointed out; that requires 
contrast. 



EXPLAINING 209 

In contrast the opposing balance of details does 
not have to depend necessarily on a standard familiar 
to the audience. It may be an arrangement of oppo- 
site aspects of the same thing to bring out more vividly 
the understanding. In his History of the English 
People, Green explains the character of Queen Elizabeth 
by showing the contrasted elements she inherited from 
her mother, Anne Boleyn, and her father, Henry VIII. 
Such a method results not only in added clearness, but 
also in emphasis. The plan may call for half a para- 
graph on one side, the second half on the other; or 
it may cover two paragraphs or sections; or it may 
alternate with every detail — an affirmative balanced 
by a negative, followed at once by another pair of 
affirmative and negative, or statement and contrast, 
and so on until the end. The speaker must consider 
such possibilities of contrast, plan for his own, and indi- 
cate it in his brief. 

Nearly any speech will provide illustrations of the 
methods of comparison and contrast. Burke's Con- 
ciliation with America has several passages of each. 

Cause to Effect. Explanations based on progres- 
sions from cause to effect and the reverse are admirably 
suited to operations, movements, changes, conditions, 
elections. An exposition of a manufacturing process 
might move from cause to effect. A legislator trying 
to secure the passage of a measure might explain its 
operation by beginning with the law (the cause) and 
tracing its results (the effect). So, too, a reformer 
might plead for a changed condition by following the 
same method. A speaker dealing with history or 
biography might use this same plan. 



210 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Effect to Cause. In actual events, the cause al- 
ways precedes the effect, but in discussion it is some- 
times better not to follow natural or usual orders. 
Many explanations gain in clearness and effect by 
working backwards. A voter might begin by showing 
the condition of a set of workmen (an effect), then 
trace conditions backward until he would end with a 
plea for the repeal of a law (the cause). A student 
might explain a low mark on his report by starting 
with the grading (the effect) and tracing backwards 
all his struggles to an early absence by which he missed 
a necessary explanation by the teacher. A doctor 
might begin a report by stating the illness of several 
persons with typhus; then trace preceding conditions 
step by step until he reached the cause — oysters eaten 
by them in a hotel were kept cool by a dealer's letting 
water run over them. This water in its course had 
picked up the disease germs — the cause. Many 
crimes are solved by moving from effect to cause. A 
lawyer in his speeches, therefore, frequently follows 
this method. 

Both these methods are so commonly employed 
that the student can cite instances from many speeches 
he has heard or books he has read. 

Time Order. Somewhat similar to the two preceding 
arrangements of exposition are the next two based on 
time. The first of these is the natural time order, or 
chronological order. In this the details follow one 
another as events happened. It is to be noted, how- 
ever, that not any group of succeeding details will 
make a good exposition of this sort. The parts must 
be closely related. They must be not merely sequential 



EXPLAINING 211 

but consequential. Dictionary definitions will explain 
the difference in meaning of those two words. This 
method is somewhat like the order from cause to effect, 
but it is adapted to other kinds of topics and other 
purposes of explanation. It is excellently suited 
to historical material, or any related kind. It is the 
device usually employed in explaining mechanical or 
manufacturing processes. In mere frequency of oc- 
currence it is doubtlessly the most common. 

Time Order Reversed. The student who starts 
to cast his expositions into this scheme should judge 
its fitness for his particular purpose at the time. It 
will often become apparent upon thought that instead 
of the natural chronological order the exact opposite will 
suit better. This — time order reversed — explains 
itself as the arrangement from the latest occurrence 
back through preceding events and details until the 
earliest time is reached. It is quite like the arrange- 
ment from effect back to cause. It might be used to 
explain the legal procedure of a state or nation, to 
explain treaty relations, to explain the giving up of 
old laws. The movements of a man accused of crime 
might be explained in this way. An alibi for a person 
might be built up thus. The various versions of some 
popular story told over and over again through a long 
period of years might be explained after such a manner. 

Although the time order reversed is not so common 
as the chronological order it does occur many times. 

Place. Certain material of exposition demands the 
order of place. This means that the details of the 
explanation are arranged according to the position of 
objects. If you have written many descriptions you 



212 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






are familiar with the problems brought up by such an 
order. A few illustrations will make it clear. A man 
on the street asks you how to reach a certain point in 
the city. On what plan do you arrange your direc- 
tions? According to their place? You start to ex- 
plain to a friend the general lay-out of New York, or 
Chicago, or San Francisco. How do you arrange the 
details of your exposition? You attempt to convey 
to another person the plan of some large building. 
What arrangement is inevitable? How do books on 
sports explain the baseball field, the football gridiron, 
the tennis court, the golf links? When specifications 
for a building are furnished to the contractor, what 
principle of arrangement is followed? If an inventor 
gives instructions to a pattern-maker for the con- 
struction of a model, what plan does he follow? Would 
a man discussing drawings for a new house be likely 
to formulate his explanations on this scheme? 

You see, then, how well suited such an arrangement 
is to a variety of uses. In such expository passages 
the transition and connecting words are mainly ex- 
pressions of place and relative position such as to the 
right, above, below, to the rear, extending upwards at an 
angle of sixty degrees, dividing equally into three sections. 
Such indications must never be slighted in spoken 
explanations. They keep the material clear and exact 
in the hearer's comprehension. The speaker, remem- 
ber, can never assume that his audience is bound to 
understand him. His task is to be so clear that no 
single individual can fail to understand him. 

Importance. It has already been stated — in the 
chapter on planning — that topics may be arranged 



EXPLAINING 213 

in the order of their importance. This same scheme 
may be used in delivery of expository matter. A hearer 
will follow the explanation if he be led gradually up 
the ascent; he will remember most clearly the latter 
part of the passage. If this include the prime factor 
of the information he will retain it longest and most 
clearly. You should listen to speeches of explanations 
critically to judge whether the plans are good. Should 
you make a list of the number of times any of the 
plans here set down appears you will be struck by the 
fact that while other orders are quite frequent, this 
last principle of leading up to the most important 
outranks all the others. It may be simply a form of 
one of the others previously enumerated in which time 
order, or contrast, or cause to effect is followed simply 
because that does bring the most important last in 
the discussion. Such an arrangement answers best 
to the response made to ideas by people in audiences. 
It is a principle of all attempts to instruct them, to 
appeal to them, to stimulate them, to move them, 
that the successive steps must increase in significance 
and impressiveness until the most moving details be 
laid before them. Analyze for yourself or for the 
class a few long explanations you have listened to, 
and report whether this principle was followed. Does 
it bear any relation to concluding a speech with a 
peroration? 

Combinations of Methods. While any one of the 
foregoing methods may be used for a single passage 
it is not usual in actual practice to find one scheme 
used throughout all the explanatory matter of the 
speech. In the first place, the attention of the au- 



214 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






dience would very likely become wearied by the 
monotony of such a device. Certain parts of the 
material under explanation seem to require one treat- 
ment, other portions require different handling. There- 
fore good speakers usually combine two or more of 
these plans. 

Partition could hardly be used throughout an entire 
speech without ruining its interest. It occurs usually 
early to map out the general field or scope. Definition 
also is likely to be necessary at the beginning of an 
explanation to start the audience with clear ideas. 
It may be resorted to at various times later whenever 
a new term is introduced with a meaning the audience 
may not entirely understand. Both partition and 
definition are short, so they are combined with other 
forms. Examples, likewise, may be introduced any- 
where. 

The two most frequently closely combined are com- 
parison and contrast. Each seems to require the 
other. Having shown how two things or ideas are 
alike, the speaker naturally passes on to secure more 
definiteness by showing that with all their likenesses 
they are not exactly the same, and that the differences 
are as essential to a clear comprehension of them as 
the similarities. So usual are they that many people 
accept the two words as meaning almost the same 
thing, though in essence they are opposites. 

The other orders cannot be used in such close com- 
binations but they may be found in varying degrees 
in many extended speeches of explanation as the 
nature of the material lends itself to one treatment or 
another. A twelve-hundred word discussion of The 



EXPLAINING 215 

Future of Food uses examples, contrasted examples, 
effect to cause, cause to effect (the phrase beginning a 
paragraph is " there is already evidence that this has 
resulted in a general lowering "), while the succeeding 
parts grow in significance until the last is the most 
important. A great English statesman in a speech 
lasting some three hours on a policy of government 
employed the following different methods at various 
places where he introduced expository material — 
partition (he claimed it was classification, but he 
listed for consideration only three of the essential five 
choices), contrast, comparison, time, example, place, 
cause to effect. Some of these methods of arranging 
explanatory matter were used several times. 

EXERCISES 

1. Explain a topic by giving three examples. The class 
should comment upon their value. 

2. Explain to the class some mechanical operation or 
device. The class after listening should decide which 
method the speaker used. 

3. Explain some principle of government or society 
following the time order. 

4. With a similar topic follow time reversed. 

5. With a similar topic use comparison only. 

6. Follow an arrangement based on contrast only. 

7. In explaining a topic combine comparison and con- 
trast. 

8. Explain some proverb, text, or quotation. The class 
should discuss the arrangement. 

9. Choose some law or government regulation. Con- 
demn or approve it in an explanation based on cause to 
effect. 



216 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






10. With the same or a similar topic use effect to cause. 

11. Explain to the class the plan of some large building 
or group of buildings. Is your explanation easily under- 
stood? 

12. Explain why a certain study fits one for a particular 
vocation. Use the order of importance. 

13. Give an idea of two different magazines, using com- 
parison and contrast. 

14. Explain some game. Time order? 

15. How is a jury trial conducted? 

16. Explain the principles of some political party. 

17. Speak for four minutes upon exercise in a gym- 
nasium. 

18. Tell how a school paper, or daily newspaper, or 
magazine is conducted. 

19. What is slang? 

20. Explain one of your hobbies. 

21. Classify and explain the qualities of a good speaker. 
Order of importance? 

22. Explain some natural phenomenon. 

23. Explain the best method for studying. 

24. Contrast business methods. 

25. From some business (as stock selling) or industry (as 
automobile manufacturing) or new vocation (as airplaning) 
or art (as acting) or accomplishment (as cooking) choose a 
group of special terms and explain them in a connected 
series of remarks. 

26. Why is superstition so prevalent? The class should 
discuss the explanations presented. 

27. " The point that always perplexes me is this: I 
always feel that if all the wealth was shared out, it would be 
all the same again in a few years' time. No one has ever 
explained to me how you can get over that." Explain 
clearly one of the two views suggested here. 



EXPLAINING 217 

28. Explain the failure of some political movement, or 
the defeat of some nation. 

29. Select a passage from some book, report, or article, 
couched in intricate technical or specialized phraseology* 
Explain it clearly to the class. 

30. Ben Jonson, a friend of Shakespeare's, wrote of him, 
" He was not of an age, but for all time." What did he 
mean? 



CHAPTER X 

PROVING AND PERSUADING 

What Argumentation Is. It is an old saying that 
there are two sides to every question. Any speaker 
who supports some opinion before an audience, who 
advances some theory, who urges people to do a certain 
thing, to vote a certain way, to give money for char- 
itable purposes, recognizes the opposite side. In try- 
ing to make people believe as he believes, to induce 
them to act as he advises, he must argue with them. 
Argumentation, as used in this book, differs widely 
from the informal exchange of opinions and views in- 
dulged in across the dinner table or on the trolley 
car. It does not correspond with the usual meaning 
of argue and argument which both so frequently sug- 
gest wrangling and bickering ending in ill-tempered 
personal attacks. Argumentation is the well-con- 
sidered, deliberate means employed to convince others 
of the truth or expediency of the views advocated by 
the speaker. Its purpose is to carry conviction to 
the consciousness of others. This is its purpose. Its 
method is proof. Proof is the body of facts, opinions, 
reasons, illustrations, conclusions, etc., properly ar- 
ranged and effectively presented which makes others 
accept as true or right the proposition advanced by 
the speaker. Of course, argumentation may exist 
in writing but as this volume is concerned with oral 

218 



PROVING AND PERSUADING 219 

delivery, the word speaker is used in the defini- 
tion. So much for the purpose and nature of argu- 
mentation. 

Use of Argumentation. Where is it used? Every- 
where, in every form of human activity. Argumen- 
tation is used by a youngster trying to induce a 
companion to go swimming and by a committee of 
world statesmen discussing the allotment of territory. 
In business a man uses it from the time he successfully 
convinces a firm it should employ him as an office boy 
until he secures the acceptance of his plans for a combi- 
nation of interests which will control the world market. 
Lawyers, politicians, statesmen, clergymen, live by 
argumentation. In the life of today, which emphasizes 
so markedly the two ideas of individuality and effi- 
ciency, argumentation is of paramount importance. 

Any person can argue, in the ordinary sense of 
stating opinions and views, in so far as any one can 
converse. But to produce good, convincing argu- 
mentation is not so easy as that. The expression of 
personal preferences, opinions, ideas, is not argumenta- 
tion, although some people who advance so far as to 
become speakers before audiences seem never to realize 
that truth, and display themselves as pretending to 
offer argumentation when they are in reality doing no 
more than reciting personal beliefs and suggestions. 

Cite instances of speakers who have indulged in 
such personal opinions when they might or should 
have offered arguments. 

While argumentation is not so easily assembled as 
running conversation is, it may be made quite as 
fascinating as the latter, and just as surely as a person 



220 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

can have his conversational ability developed so can 
a person have his argumentative power strengthened. 
Conviction. What should be the first requisite of 
a speaker of argumentation? Should it be conviction 
in the truth or right of the position he takes and the 
proposition he supports? At first thought one would 
answer emphatically "y es -" A great deal of discredit 
has been brought upon the study of argumentation 
by the practice of speakers to pretend to have opin- 
ions which in reality they do not sincerely believe. 
The practical instance is the willingness of paid lawyers 
to defend men of whose guilt they must be sure. Such 
criticism does not apply to cases in which there are 
reasonable chances for opposing interpretations, nor 
to those cases in which our law decrees that every 
person accused of crime shall be provided with counsel, 
but to those practices to which Lincoln referred when he 
recommended the lawyer not to court litigation. Nor 
should this criticism deter a student of public speaking 
from trying his skill in defense of the other side, when 
he feels that such practice will help him in weighing 
his own arguments. In every instance of this highly 
commendable double method of preparation which the 
author has seen in classrooms, the speaker, after 
his speech has been commented upon, has always 
declared his real position and explained why he ad- 
vocated the opposite. Even school and college de- 
bating has been criticized in the same way for becom- 
ing not an attempt to discover or establish the truth 
or right of a proposition, but a mere game with formal 
rules, a set of scoring regulations, and a victory or 
defeat with consequent good or bad effects upon the 



PROVING AND PERSUADING 221 

whole practice of undergraduate debating. If such 
contests are understood in their true significance, as 
practice in training, and the assumption of conviction 
by a student is not continued after graduation so that 
he will in real life defend and support opinions he really 
does not believe, the danger is not so great. The man 
who has no fixed principles, who can argue equally 
glibly on any side of a matter, whose talents are at any 
man's command of service, is untrustworthy. Con- 
victions are worthy elements in life. A man must 
change his stand when his convictions are argued 
away, but the man whose opinions shift with every 
new scrap of information or influence is neither a safe 
leader nor a dependable subordinate. 

For the sake of the training, then, a student may 
present arguments from attitudes other than his own 
sincere conviction, but the practice should be nothing 
more than a recognized exercise. 

Because of its telling influence upon the opinion of 
others let us, without further reservation, set down 
that the first essential of a good argument is the ability 
to convince others. Aside from the language and the 
manner of delivery — two elements which must never 
be disregarded in any speech — this ability to con- 
vince others depends upon the proof presented to them 
in support of a proposition. The various kinds and 
methods of proof, with matters closely related to them, 
make up the material of this chapter. 

The Proposition. In order to induce argument, 
there must be a proposition. A proposition in argu- 
ment is a statement — a declarative sentence — con- 
cerning the truth or expediency of which there may 



222 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

be two opinions. Notice that not every declarative 
statement is a proposition for argument. " The sun 
rises " is not a statement about which there can be 
any varying opinions. It is not a proposition for 
argument. But "Missionaries should not be sent 
to China," and " John Doe killed Simon Lee," are 
statements admitting of different opinions and beliefs. 
They are propositions for argument. No sane person 
would argue about such a statement as " Missionaries 
are sent to China," nor would any one waste time on 
such a statement as " Some day a man named John 
Doe will kill a man named Simon Lee." 

Although in common language we speak of arguing 
a question the student must remember that such a 
thing is impossible. You cannot argue about a ques- 
tion. Nor can you argue about a subject or a topic. 
The only expression about which there can be any 
argument is a proposition. The question must be 
answered. The resulting statement is then proved or 
disproved. The topic must be given some definite 
expression in a declarative sentence before any real 
argument is possible. Even when the matter of argu- 
ment is incorrectly phrased as a topic or question you 
will find almost immediately in the remarks the propo- 
sition as a sentence. " Should women vote? " may 
be on the posters announcing an address, but the 
speaker will soon declare, " Women should vote in all 
elections in the United States upon the same condi- 
tions that men do." That is the proposition being 
argued; the question has been answered. 

Kinds of Propositions. Certain kinds of proposi- 
tions should never be chosen for argumentation. Many 



PROVING AND PERSUADING 223 

are incapable of proof, so any speech upon them would 
result in the mere repetition of personal opinions. 
Such are: The pen is mightier than the sword; Busi- 
ness men should not read poetry; Every person should 
play golf; Ancient authors were greater than modern 
authors. Others are of no interest to contemporary 
audiences and for that reason should not be presented. 
In the Middle Ages scholars discussed such matters as 
how many angels could stand on the point of a needle, 
but today no one cares about such things. 

Propositions of Fact. Propositions fall into the 
two classes already illustrated by the statements about 
missionaries in China and the killing of Simon Lee. 
The second — John Doe killed Simon Lee — is a 
proposition of fact. All argument about it would 
tend to prove either the affirmative or the negative. 
One argument would strive to prove the statement a 
fact. The other argument would try to prove its 
opposite the actual fact. Facts are accomplished 
results or finished events. Therefore propositions of 
fact refer to the past. They are the material of argu- 
ment in all cases at law, before investigation com- 
mittees, and in similar proceedings. Lincoln argued 
a proposition of fact when he took Douglas's state- 
ment, " Our fathers, when they framed the govern- 
ment under which we live, understood this question 
just as well, and even better, than we do now," and 
then proved by telling exactly how they voted upon 
every measure dealing with slavery exactly what the 
thirty-nine signers of the Constitution did believe 
about national control of the practice. Courts of law 
demand that pleadings " shall set forth with certainty 



224 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

and with truth the matters of fact or of law, the truth 
or falsity of which must be decided to decide the case." 

Propositions of Policy. Notice that the other 
proposition — Missionaries should not be sent to 
China — is not concerned with a fact at all. It deals 
with something which should or should not be done. 
It deals with future conduct. It depends upon the 
value of the results to be secured. It looks to the 
future. It deals with some principle of action. It is 
a question of expediency or policy. It induces argu- 
ment to show that one method is the best or not the 
best. Propositions of expediency or policy are those 
which confront all of us at every step in life. Which 
college shall a boy attend? What kind of work shall 
a woman enter? How large shall taxes be next year? 
Which candidate shall we elect? How shall we better 
the city government? How shall I invest my money? 
What kind of automobile shall I buy? What kind of 
will shall I make? 

The answers to all such questions make propositions 
of expediency or policy upon which arguments are 
being composed and delivered every day. 

In choosing propositions for argument avoid, 1, those 
which are obviously truth; 2, those in which some 
ambiguous word or term covers the truth; 3, those 
in which the truth or error is practically impossible 
of proof; 4, those involving more than one main issue; 
5, those which do not interest the audience. 

Wording the Proposition. The proposition should 
be accurately worded. In law if the word burglary 
is used in the indictment, the defense, in order to 
quash the charge, need show merely that a door 



PROVING AND PERSUADING 225 

was unlocked. The phrasing should be as simple 
and concise as possible. The proposition should not 
cover too wide a field. Although these directions 
seem self-evident they should be kept in mind con- 
tinually. 

When the proposition is satisfactory to the maker 
of the argument he is ready to begin to build his proof. 
In actual speech-making few arguments can be made 
as convincing as a geometrical demonstration but a 
speaker can try to make his reasoning so sound, his 
development so cogent, his delivery so convincing, 
that at the end of his speech, he can exclaim triumph- 
antly, " Quod erat demonstrandum." 

Burden of Proof. Every argument presupposes the 
opposite side. Even when only one speaker appears 
his remarks always indicate the possibility of opposite 
views in the minds of some of the hearers. The 
affirmative and negative are always present. It is 
frequently asserted that the burden of proof is on the 
negative. This is no more correct than the opposite 
statement would be. The place of the burden of 
proof depends entirely upon the wording of the propo- 
sition and the statement it makes. In general the 
burden of proof is upon the side which proposes any 
change of existing conditions, the side which supports 
innovations, which would introduce new methods. 
With the passage of time the burden of proof may 
shift from one side to the other. There was a time 
when the burden of proof was upon the advocates of 
woman suffrage; today it is undoubtedly upon the 
opponents. At one period the opponents of the study 
of Latin and Greek had the burden of proof, now the 



226 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

supporters of such study have it. Other topics upon 
which the burden of proof has shifted are popular 
election of Senators, prohibition, League of Nations, 
self-determination of small nations, the study of voca- 
tions, civics, and current topics in schools, an all-year 
school term, higher salaries for teachers, the benefits of 
labor unions, Americanization of the foreign born. 

Evidence. One of the best ways of proving a state- 
ment is by giving evidence of its truth. Evidence is 
made up of facts which support any proposition. In 
court a witness when giving testimony (evidence) is 
not allowed to give opinions or beliefs — he is con- 
tinually warned to offer only what he knows of the 
fact. It is upon the facts marshaled before it that 
the jury is charged to render its verdict. 

Direct Evidence. Evidence may be of two kinds — 
direct and indirect. This second, especially in legal 
matters, is termed circumstantial evidence. Direct 
evidence consists of facts that apply directly to the 
proposition under consideration. If a man sees a 
street car passenger take a wallet from another man's 
pocket and has him arrested at once and the wallet is 
found in his pocket, that constitutes direct evidence. 
Outside criminal cases the same kind of assured testi- 
mony can be cited as direct evidence. 

Circumstantial Evidence. In most cases in court 
such direct evidence is the exception rather than the 
rule, for a man attempting crime would shun cir- 
cumstances in which his crime would be witnessed. 
Indirect evidence — circumstantial evidence — is much 
more usual. It lacks the certainty of direct evidence, 
yet from the known facts presented it is often possible 



PROVING AND PERSUADING 227 

to secure almost the same certainty as from direct 
evidence. In serious crimes, such as murder, juries are 
extremely cautious about convicting upon circum- 
stantial evidence. There are many chances of error 
in making chains of evidence. In indirect evidence 
a group of facts is presented from which a conclusion 
is attempted. Suppose a boy had trouble with a 
farmer and had been heard to threaten to get even. 
One day the man struck him with a whip as he passed 
on the road. That night the farmer's barn was set 
on fire. Neighbors declared they saw some one 
running from the scene. Next day the boy told his 
companions he was glad of the loss. Circumstantial 
evidence points to the boy as the culprit. Yet what 
might the facts be? 

In presenting arguments get as much direct evi- 
dence as possible to prove your statements. When 
direct evidence cannot be secured, link your indirect 
evidence so closely that it presents not a single weak 
link. Let the conclusion you draw from it be the 
only possible one. Make certain no one else can 
interpret it in any other way. 

When you present evidence be sure it completely 
covers your contention. Be sure_it is clear. Be sure 
it fits in with all the other facts and details presented. 
Do not let it conflict with usual human experience. 
Consider the sources of your evidence. If you do 
not, you can be certain your audience will. Are your 
sources reliable? Is the information authoritative? Is it 
first-hand material, or merely hearsay? Is it unprej- 
udiced? Many of the other facts for evidence have al- 
ready been suggested in the chapter on getting material. 



228 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Two General Methods of Reasoning. Frequently 
the evidence to be used in argumentation must be 
interpreted before it can be of any value, especially 
when dealing with propositions of expediency or policy. 
There are two general methods of reasoning. One is 
the inductive method, the other the deductive. 

Inductive Reasoning. When we discover that a 
certain operation repeated many times always pro- 
duces the same result we feel justified in concluding 
that we can announce it as a universal law. After 
thousands of falling bodies have been measured and 
always give the same figures, scientists feel that they 
may state the law that all falling bodies acquire an 
acceleration of 32.2 feet per second. This illustrates 
the inductive method of reasoning. In this system we 
reason from the specific instance to the general law, 
from the particular experiment to the universal theory, 
from the concrete instance to the wide principle. 

All modern science is based upon this method — 
the experimental one. All general theories of any 
kind today must — to be accepted — be supported 
by long and careful consideration of all possible and 
probable circumstances. The theory of evolution 
as applied to the living things upon the earth is the 
result of countless observations and experiments. 

Hasty Generalization. The speaker cannot him- 
self examine all the specific instances, he cannot con- 
sider all the illustrations which might support his 
position, but he must be careful of a too hasty gen- 
eralization. Having talked with a dozen returned 
soldiers he may not declare that all American army 
men are glad to be out of France, for had he investi- 



[ PROVING AND PERSUADING 

gated a little further he might have found an equal 
number who regret the return to this land. He must 
base his general statement on so many instances that 
his conclusion will convince not only him, but people 
disposed to oppose his view. He must be better pre- 
pared to show the truth of his declaration than merely 
to dismiss an example which does not fit into his scheme 
by glibly asserting that " exceptions prove the rule." 
He must show that what seems to contradict him is 
in nature an exception and therefore has nothing at 
all to do with his rule. Beginning speakers are quite 
prone to this fault of too hasty generalization. 

EXERCISES 

1. Write down five general theories or statements which 
have been established by inductive reasoning. 

2. Is there any certainty that they will stand unchanged 
forever? 

3. Under what circumstances are such changes made? 

4. Can you cite any accepted laws or theories of past 
periods which have been overturned? 

Deductive Reasoning. After general laws have 
been established, either by human experience or 
accepted inductive reasoning, they may be cited as 
applying to any particular case under consideration. 
This passing from the general law to the particular 
instance is deductive reasoning. Deductive reason- 
ing has a regular form called the syllogism. 

Major premise. All men are mortal. 
Minor premise. Socrates is a man. 

Conclusion. Therefore, Socrates is mortal. 



230 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

If the three parts of a syllogism are correct it has 
absolute convincing power. Most attempts to dis- 
prove its statement attack the first two statements. 
Although it carries such an air of certainty it is likely 
to many errors in use. An error like this is common: 

All horses are animals. 
All cows are animals. 
Therefore, all cows are horses. 

Explain the fallacy in this syllogism. 
Quite as frequently the incorrect syllogism is of this 
kind. 

The edge of a stream is a bank. 

A bank is a financial institution. 

Therefore, the edge of a stream is a financial institution. 

You will comment upon this that its evident silli- 
ness would prevent any speaker from using such a 
form in serious argument. But recall that in the 
discussion of any idea a term may get its meaning 
slightly changed. In that slight change of meaning 
lurks the error illustrated here, ready to lead to false 
reasoning and weakening of the argument. Certain 
words of common use are likely to such shifting mean- 
ings — republic, equality, representative, monarchy, so- 
cialistic. Any doubtful passage in which such an 
error is suspected should be reduced to its syllogistic 
form to be tested for accuracy. 

A representative of the people must vote always as 

they would vote. 
A Congressman is a representative of the people. 
Therefore, Congressmen must vote always as the people 

who elect them would vote. 



PROVING AND PERSUADING 231 

Is not the expression, representative of the people, 
here used in two different senses? 

When an argument is delivered, one of the premises 
— being a statement which the speaker assumes 
every one will admit as true — is sometimes omitted. 
This shortened form is called an enthymeme. 

Smith will be a successful civil engineer for he is a 
superior mathematician. 

Supply the missing premise. Which is it? 

In the bald, simple forms here set down, the syl- 
logism and enthymeme are hardly suited to delivery 
in speeches. They must be amplified, explained, em- 
phasized, in order to serve a real purpose. The fol- 
lowing represent better the way a speaker uses de- 
ductive reasoning. 

The appointing power is vested in the President and 
Senate; this is the general rule of the Constitution. The 
removing power is part of the appointing power; it cannot 
be separated from the rest. 

Daniel Webster: The Appointing and Removing Power, 1835 

Then Daniel Webster stated in rather extended 
form the conclusion that the Senate should share in 
the removing proceedings. 

Sir, those who espouse the doctrines of nullification reject, 
as it seems to me, the first great principle of all republican 
liberty; that is, that the majority must govern. In matters 
of common concern, the judgment of a majority must stand 
as the judgment of the whole. 

Daniel Webster: Reply to Calhoun, 1853 

Then, he argues, as these revenue laws were passed 
by a majority, they must be obeyed in South Carolina. 



232 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Methods of Proof. In extended arguments, just as 
in detailed exposition, many different methods of 
proof may be employed. 

Explanation. Often a mere clear explanation will 
induce a listener to accept your view of the truth of a 
proposition. You have heard men say, " Oh, if that 
is what you mean, I agree with you entirely. I simply 
didn't understand you." When you are about to 
engage in argument consider this method of exposition 
to see if it will suffice. In all argument there is a great 
deal of formal or incidental explanation. 

Authority. When authority is cited to prove a 
statement it must be subjected to the same tests in 
argument as in explanation. Is the authority reliable? 
Is he unprejudiced? Does his testimony fit in with 
the circumstances under consideration? Will his state- 
ments convince a person likely to be on the opposing 
side? Why has so much so-called authoritative in- 
formation concerning conditions in Europe been so 
discounted? Is it not because the reporters are likely 
to be prejudiced and because while what they say may 
be true of certain places and conditions it does not 
apply to all the points under discussion? The speaker 
who wants the support of authority will test it as 
carefully as though its influence is to be used against 
him — as indeed, it frequently is. 

Examples. Where examples are used in argumenta- 
tion they must serve as more than mere illustrations. 
In exposition an illustration frequently explains, but 
that same example would have no value in argument 
because while it illustrates it does not prove. A sup- 
positious example may serve in explanation; only a 



PROVING AND PERSUADING 233 

fact will serve as proof. The more inevitable its ap- 
plication, the more clinching its effect, the better its 
argumentative value. Notice how the two examples 
given below prove that the heirs of a literary man 
might be the very worst persons to own the copy- 
rights of his writings since as owners they might sup- 
press books which the world of readers should be able 
to secure easily. While these examples illustrate, do 
they not also prove? 

I remember Richardson's grandson well; he was a clergy- 
man in the city of London; he was a most upright and ex- 
cellent man; but he had conceived a strong prejudice against 
works of fiction. He thought all novel-reading not only 
frivolous but sinful. He said • — this I state on the authority 
of one of his clerical brethren who is now a bishop — he said 
that he had never thought it right to read one of his grand- 
father's books. 

I will give another instance. One of the most instructive, 
interesting, and delightful books in our language is BoswelFs 
Life of Johnson. Now it is well known that BoswelFs eldest 
son considered this book, considered the whole relation of 
Boswell to Johnson, as a blot in the escutcheon of the family. 
Thomas Babington Macaulay: Copyright, 1841 

Analogy. In argument by analogy the speaker at- 
tempts to prove that because certain things are known 
to be true in something that can be observed they are 
likely to be true in something else which in so far as 
it can be observed is quite like the first. We con- 
tinually argue by analogy in daily life. Lincoln was 
really using analogy when he replied to the urging to 
change his army leaders during the Civil War, that he 
didn't think it wise to " swap horses while crossing a 



234 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

stream." Scientists use this method to draw con- 
clusions when it is impossible to secure from actual 
observation or experiment a certain last step in the 
reasoning. The planet Mars and the earth are similar 
in practically all observable matters; they are about 
the same distance from the sun, they have the same 
surface conditions. The earth has living creatures 
upon it. Hence — so goes the reasoning of analogy — 
Mars is probably inhabited. Reasoning by analogy is 
used to prove that universal suffrage is good for the 
United States because it has been good for one particular 
state. A student may argue by analogy that the elec- 
tive system should be introduced into all high schools, 
because it has been followed in colleges. It may be 
asserted that a leading bank president will make a 
good university president, because he has managed 
one complex institution. The essence of all good rea- 
soning by analogy is that the two things considered 
must be so nearly alike in all that is known that the 
presumption of belief is that they must also be alike in 
the one point the arguer is trying to establish. This 
is the test he must apply to his own analogy arguments. 

Our community frowns with indignation upon the pro- 
faneness of the duel, having its rise in this irrational point 
of honor. Are you aware that you indulge the same senti- 
ment on a gigantic scale, when you recognize this very 
point of honor as a proper apology for war? We have 
already seen that justice is in no respect promoted by war. 
Is true honor promoted where justice is not? 

Charles Sumner: The True Grandeur of Nations, 1845 

Residues. The method of residues is frequently 
employed when the speaker is supporting a policy to 






PROVING AND PERSUADING 235 



be carried out, a measure to be adopted, a change to 
be instituted, or a law to be passed. Granting the 
assumption that something must be done he considers 
all the various methods which may be employed, dis- 
poses of them one by one as illegal, or unsuited, or 
clumsy, or inexpedient, leaving only one, the one he 
wants adopted, as the one which must be followed. 

This is a good practical method of proof, provided the 
speaker really considers all the possible ways of pro- 
ceeding and does show the undesirability of all except 
the one remaining. 

A speaker pleading for the installation of a com- 
mission form of city control might list all the possible 
ways of city government, a business manager, a mayor, 
a commission. By disposing completely of the first 
two, he would have proven the need for the last. A 
good speaker will aways go farther than merely to 
reach this kind of conclusion. He will, in addition to 
disproving the unworthy choices, strongly support his 
residue, the measure he wants adopted. In support- 
ing amounts of taxes, assessments, etc., this method 
may be used. One amount can be proven so large as 
to cause unrest, another so small as to be insufficient, 
a third to produce a total just large enough to meet all 
anticipated expenses with no surplus for emergencies; 
therefore the correct amount must be just larger than 
this but not reaching an amount likely to produce the 
result caused by the first considered. Used in trials of 
criminal cases it eliminates motives until a single in- 
evitable remainder cannot be argued away. This may 
be the clue to follow, or it may be the last one of all 
suspected persons. Burke considered several possible 



236 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

ways of dealing with the American colonies; one he 
dismissed as no more than a " sally of anger," a second 
could not be operated because of the distance, a scheme 
of Lord North's he proved would complicate rather than 
settle matters, to change the spirit of America was 
impossible, to prosecute it as criminal was inexpedient, 
therefore but one way remained, to conciliate the spirit 
of discontent by letting the colonies vote their own 
taxes. It is interesting that what Burke described as 
the sally of anger was the way the matter was actually 
settled — Great Britain had to give up the American 
colonies. 

This method is also called elimination. 

Cause to Effect. Just as the explainer may pass 
from cause to effect so may the arguer. Other names 
for this method are antecedent probability and 
a priori argument. In argument from a known cause 
an effect is proven as having occurred or as likely to 
occur. In solving crime this is the method which uses 
the value of the motives for crime as known to exist in 
the feelings or sentiments of a certain accused person. 
A person trying to secure the passage of a certain law 
will prove that it as the cause will produce certain 
effects which make it desirable. Changed conditions 
in the United States will be brought forward as the 
cause to prove that the Federal government must do 
things never contemplated by the framers of the Con- 
stitution. Great military organization as the cause 
of the recent war is used now in argument to carry on 
the plea for the securing of peace by disarmament. 

The main difficulty in reasoning from cause to effect is 
to make the relationship so clear and so close that one 



i 



PROVING AND PERSUADING 237 

thing will be accepted by everybody as the undisputed 
cause of the alleged effect. 

Effect to Cause. In reasoning from effect to cause 
the reverse method is employed. This is also termed 
argument from sign or the a posteriori method. In it, 
from some known effect the reasoning proves that it 
is the result of a certain specified cause. Statistics 
indicating business prosperity might be used as the 
effect from which the arguer proves that they are 
caused by a high protective tariff. A speaker shows 
the good effects upon people to prove that certain 
laws — claimed as the causes — should be extended in 
application. Arguments from effect to cause may be 
extremely far reaching; as every effect leads to some 
cause, which is itself the effect of some other cause, and 
so on almost to infinity. The good speaker will use 
just those basic causes which prove his proposition — 
no more. 

In actual practice the two forms of reasoning from 
cause to effect and from effect to cause are frequently 
combined to make the arguments all the more con- 
vincing. Grouped together they are termed causal 
relations. 

Persuasion. When a speaker has conclusively proven 
what he has stated in his proposition, is his speech 
ended? In some cases, yes; in many cases, no. Mere 
proof appeals to the intellect only; it settles matters 
perhaps, but leaves the hearer cold and humanly in- 
active. He may feel like saying, " Well, even if what 
you say is true, what are you going to do about it? " 
Mathematical and scientific proofs exist for mere in- 
formation, but most arguments delivered before audi- 



238 PUBLIC SPEAKING 



; do 



ences have a purpose. They try to make people 
something. A group of people should be aroused to 
some determination of purposeful thought if not to a 
registered act at the time. In days of great stress the 
appeal to action brought the immediate response in 
military enlistments; in enrollment for war work; in 
pledges of service; in signing membership blanks and 
subscription blanks; in spontaneous giving. 

Persuasion Produces a Response. The end of most 
argumentative speaking is to produce a response. It 
may be the casting of a vote, the joining of a society \ 
the repudiation of an unworthy candidate, the dem- 
onstrating of the solidarity of labor, the affiliating with 
a religious sect, the changing of a mode of procedure, 
the purchasing of a new church organ, the wearing of 
simpler fashions, or any of the thousand and one things 
a patient listener is urged to do in the course of his 
usual life. 

When the speaker passes on from mere convincing 
to appealing for some response he has passed from 
argumentation to persuasion. Nearly every argumenta- 
tive speech dealing with a proposition of policy shows 
first what ought to be done, then tries to induce people 
to do it, by appealing as strongly as possible to their 
practical, esthetic, or moral interests. All such in- 
terests depend upon what we call sentiments or feelings 
to which worthy — note the word worthy — appeals 
may legitimately be addressed. Attempts to arouse 
unworthy motives by stirring up ignorance and prej- 
udice are always to be most harshly condemned. Such 
practices have brought certain kinds of so-called per- 
suasion into well-deserved contempt. The high sound- 



PROVING AND PERSUADING 239 

ing spell-binder with his disgusting spread-eagleism 
cannot be muzzled by law, but he may be rendered 
harmless by vacant chairs and empty halls. Real 
eloquence is not a thing of noise and exaggeration. 
Beginning speakers should avoid the tawdry imitation 
as they would a plague. 

Elements of Persuasion. What elements may aid 
the persuasive power of a speech? First of all, the 
occasion may be just the right one. The surroundings 
may have prepared the audience for the effect the 
speaker should make if he knows how to seize upon 
the opportunity for his own purpose. The speaker 
must know how to adapt himself to the circumstances 
present. In other cases, he must be able to do the 
much more difficult thing — adapt the circumstances 
to his purpose. 

Secondly, the subject matter itself may prepare for 
the persuasive treatment in parts. Every one realizes 
this. When emotional impulses are present in the 
material the introduction of persuasion is inevitable 
and fitting, if not over-done. 

Thirdly, the essence of persuasion depends upon the 
speaker. All the good characteristics of good speaking 
will contribute to the effect of his attempts at per- 
suasion. A good speaker is sincere to the point of 
winning respect even when he does not carry convic- 
tion. He is in earnest. He is simple and unaffected. 
He has tact. He is fair to every antagonistic attitude. 
He has perfect self-control. He does not lose his 
temper. He can show a proper sense of humor. He 
has genuine sympathy. And finally — perhaps it in- 
cludes all the preceding — he has personal magnetism. 



240 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

With such qualities a speaker can make an effective 
appeal by means of persuasion. If upon self-criticism 
and self-examination, or from outside kindly comment, 
he concludes he is lacking in any one of these qualities 
he should try to develop it. 

EXERCISES 

Prepare and deliver speeches upon some of the following 
or upon propositions suggested by them. If the speech is 
short, try to employ only one method of proof, but make it 
convincing. Where suitable, add persuasive elements. 

1. Make a proposition from one of the following topics. 
Deliver an argumentative speech upon it. The next elec- 
tion. Entrance to college. Child labor. The study of the 
classics. The study of science. 

2. Recommend changes which will benefit your school, 
your club or society, your church, your town, your state. 

3. The Japanese should be admitted to the United States 
upon the same conditions as other foreigners. 

4. Men and women should receive the same pay for the 
same work done. 

5. All church property should be taxed. 

6. All laws prohibiting secular employment on Sunday 
should be repealed. 

7. The purely protective tariff should be withdrawn 
from goods the manufacture of which has been firmly es- 
tablished in this country. 

8. Large incomes should be subject to a graduated in- 
come tax. 

9. Employers should not be forced to recognize labor 
unions. 

10. Immigration into the United States of persons who 
cannot read or write some language should be prohibited, 
except dependents upon such qualified entrants. 



PROVING AND PERSUADING 241 

11. An amendment should be added to the Constitution 
providing for uniform marriage and divorce laws throughout 
the entire country. 

12. A city is the best place for a college. 

13. Military training should be obligatory in all public 
schools. 

14. Colleges and universities should reduce the attention 
paid to athletics. 

15. The negro in the South should be disfranchised. 

16. The number of Representatives in Congress should 
be reduced. 

17. Moving pictures should be used in schools. 

18. Street car systems should be owned and operated by 
municipalities. 

19. Education should be compulsory until the completion 
of high school. 

20. Athletes whose grade is below 75% should be debarred 
from all participation until the marks are raised. 

21. The' Federal government should own and operate the 
telegraph and telephone systems. 

22. The state should provide pensions for indigent 
mothers of children below the working age. 

23. The study of algebra (or some other subject) in the 
high school should be elective. 

24< The initiative should be adopted in all states. 

25. The referendum should be adopted in all states. 

26. All governmental officials should be subject to recall. 

27. The public should support in all ways the movement 
of labor to secure the closed shop system. 

28. Railroad crossings should be abolished. 

29. The Federal government should pass laws controlling 
all prices of foodstuffs. 

30. A trial before a group of competent judges should 
be substituted for trial by jury. 



CHAPTER XI 
REFUTING 

Answering the Other Side. It has been said al- 
ready that even in a single argumentative speech some 
account must be taken of the possibility among the 
audience of the belief in other views. A speaker must 
always assume that people will believe otherwise than 
he does. In such cases as debate or questioning after 
a speech is made, this opposing side will very clearly 
be brought out, so that any person training for any 
kind of public speaking will give much attention to the 
contentions of others in order to strengthen his own 
convictions as displayed in his speeches. 

A sincere thinker may believe that trial before a 
group of competent judges is a better procedure than 
trial by jury. Were he to speak upon such a proposi- 
tion he would realize that he would meet at once the 
solid opposition of the general opinion that jury trials, 
sanctioned by long practice, are in some mysterious 
way symbolic of the liberty and equality of mankind. 
Before he could expect to arouse sympathetic under- 
standing he would have to answer all the possible ob- 
jections and reasons against his new scheme. This 
he would do by refutation, by disproving the soundness 
of the arguments against his scheme. He could cite 
the evident and recorded injustices committed by 
juries. He could bring before them the impossibility 

242 



REFUTING 243 

of securing an intelligent verdict from a group of 
farmers, anxious to get to their farms for harvest, 
sitting in a case through July, while the days passed 
in lengthy examinations of witnesses — one man was 
on the stand eight days — and the lawyers bandied 
words and names like socialist, pagan, bolsheviki, 
anarchy, ideal republic, Aristotle, Plato, Herbert 
Spencer, Karl Marx, Tolstoi, Jane Addams, Lenin. 
Then when he felt assured he had removed all the 
reasons for supporting the present jury system he 
could proceed to advance his own substitute. 

Need and Value of Refutation. In all argumenta- 
tion, therefore, refutation is valuable and necessary. 
By it opposing arguments are reasoned away, their 
real value is determined, or they are answered and 
demolished if they are false or faulty. To acquire any 
readiness as a speaker or debater a person must pay a 
great deal of attention to refutation. It has also an 
additional value. It has been stated that every argu- 
mentative speaker must study the other side of every 
question upon which he is to speak. One great de- 
bater declared that if he had time to study only one 
side of a proposition or law case he would devote that 
time to the other side. Study your own position from 
the point of view of the other side. Consider care- 
fully what arguments that side will naturally advance. 
In fact, try to refute your own arguments exactly as 
some opponent would, or get some friend to try to 
refute your statements. Many a speaker has gained 
power in reasoning by having his views attacked by 
members of his family who would individually and 
collectively try to drive him into a corner. In actual 



244 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

amount, perhaps you will never deliver as much refuta- 
tion of an opponent as you will conjure up in your 
mind against your own speeches. Perhaps, also, this 
great amount advanced by you in testing your own 
position will prevent your opponents from ever finding 
in your delivered arguments much against which they 
can pit their own powers of refutation. 

In judging your own production you will have to 
imagine yourself on the other side, so the methods will 
be the same for all purposes of self-help or weakening 
of an opponent's views. 

Contradiction Is Not Refutation. In the first place 
contradiction is not refutation. No unsupported fact 
or statement has any value in argumentation. Such 
expressions as " I don't believe, I don't think so, I 
don't agree" introduce not arguments, but personal 
opinions. You must, to make your refutation valuable, 
prove your position. Never allow your attempts at ref- 
utation to descend to mere denial or quibbling. Be 
prepared to support, to prove everything you say. 

Three Phases of Refutation. In general, refuta- 
tion consists of three phases: 

1. The analysis of the opposite side. 

2. The classification of the arguments according 

to importance. 

3. The answering of only the strongest points. 
Analysis of Opposing Side for Accuracy. In the 

first analysis, you will probably examine the opposing 
statements to test their accuracy. Mere slips, so 
evident that they deceive no one, you may disregard 
entirely, but gross error of fact or conclusion you 
should note and correct in unmistakably plain terms. 



REFUTING 245 

The kind of statement which gives insufficient data 
should be classed in analysis with this same kind of 
erroneous statement. A shoe dealer in arguing for 
increased prices might quote correctly the rising cost 
of materials, but if he stopped there, you in refutation 
should be able to show that profits had already risen 
to 57%, and so turn his own figures against him. 
Another class of refutation similar to this is the ques- 
tioning of authorities. Something concerning this has 
already been said. In a recent trial a lawyer cast doubt 
upon the value of a passage read from a book by de- 
claring its author could never have written such a 
thing. In refutation the opposing lawyer said, " You 
will find that passage on page 253 of his Essays and 
Letters. 99 , Public speakers, realizing that errors of 
statement are likely to be the first to be picked out for 
correction, and recognizing the damaging effect of 
such conviction in error of fact and testimony, are 
extremely careful not to render themselves liable to 
attack upon such points. Yet they may. We are 
told by Webster's biographers that in later periods of 
his life he was detected in errors of law in cases being 
argued before the court, and refuted in statement. To 
catch such slips requires two things of the successful 
speaker. He must be in possession of the facts him- 
self. He must be mentally alert to see the falsity and 
know how to answer it. 

Begging the Question. The expression " begging 
the question " is often heard as a fallacy in argument. 
In its simplest form it is similar to inaccurate state- 
ment, for it includes assertions introduced without 
proof, and the statement of things as taken for granted 



246 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

without attempting to prove them, yet using them to 
prove other statements. Sometimes, also, a careless 
thinker, through an extended group of paragraphs will 
end by taking as proven exactly the proposition he 
started out to prove, when close analysis will show 
that nowhere during the discussion does he actually 
prove it. As this is frequent in amateur debates, 
students should be on their guard against it. 

Ignoring the Question. The same kind of flimsy 
mental process results in ignoring the question. In- 
stead of sticking closely to the proposition to be proved 
the speaker argues beside the point, proving not the 
entire proposition but merely a portion of it. Or in 
some manner he may shift his ground and emerge, 
having proven the wrong point or something he did 
not start out to consider. An amateur theatrical pro- 
ducer whose playhouse had been closed by the police 
for violating the terms of his license started out to 
defend his action, but ended by proving that ail men 
are equal. In fact he wound up by quoting the poem 
by Burns, "A Man's a Man for A' That." Such a 
shifting of propositions is a frequent error of speakers. 
It occurs so often that one might be disposed to term 
it a mere trick to deceive, or a clever though unscrupu- 
lous device to secure support for a weak claim. One 
of the first ways for the speaker to avoid it is to be able 
to recognize it when it occurs. One of the most quoted 
instances of its effective unmasking is the following 
by Macaulay. 

The advocates of Charles, like the advocates of other 
malefactors against whom overwhelming evidence is pro- 
duced, generally decline all controversy about the facts, and 



REFUTING 247 

content themselves with calling testimony to character. 
He had so many private virtues! And had James the 
Second no private virtues! Was Oliver Cromwell, his 
bitterest enemies themselves being judges, destitute of 
private virtues? And what, after all, are the virtues as-] 
cribed to Charles? A religious zeal, not more sincere than 
that of his son, and fully as weak and narrow-minded, and 
a few of the ordinary household decencies which half the 
tombstones in England claim for those who lie beneath 
them. A good father! A good husband! Ample apologies 
indeed for fifteen years of persecution, tyranny, and false- 
hood! 

We charge him with having broken his coronation oath; 
and we are told that he kept his marriage vow! We accuse 
him of having given up his people to merciless inflictions 
of the most hot-headed and hard-hearted of prelates; and 
the defence is, that he took his little son on his knee and 
kissed him! We censure him for having violated the articles 
of the Petition of Right, after having, for good and valuable 
consideration, promised to observe them; and we are in- 
formed that he was accustomed to hear prayers at six o'clock 
in the morning! It is to such considerations as these, to- 
gether with his Vandyke dress, his handsome face, and his 
peaked beard, that he owes, we verily believe, most of his 
popularity with the present generation. 

Appealing to Prejudice or Passions. The question 
is also ignored when the speaker appeals to the prej- 
udices or passions of his audience (argumentum ad 
fojpulum). Persons of some intellect resent this as 
almost an insult if they are in the audience, yet it is 
often resorted to by speakers who would rather produce 
the effect they desire by the use of any methods, right 
or wrong. Its use in court by unscrupulous lawyers 



248 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






to win decisions is checked by attempts on the part of 
judges to counteract it in their charges to the jury, but 
its influence may still persist. Mark Antony in 
Shakespere's play, Julius Caesar, used it in his oration 
over the dead body of Caesar to further his own ends. 

Taking Advantage of Ignorance. Just as a speaker 
may take advantage of the prejudices and passions of 
an audience, so he may take advantage of their igno- 
rance. Against the blankness of their brains he may 
hurl unfamiliar names to dazzle them, cite facts of all 
kinds to impress them, show a wide knowledge of all 
sorts of things, " play up to them " in every way, until 
they become so impressed that they are ready to ac- 
cept as truth anything he chooses to tell them. Any 
daily paper will provide examples of the sad results 
of the power of this kind of fallacious reasoning. The 
get-rich-quick schemes, the worthless stock deals, the 
patent medicine quacks, the extravagantly worded 
claims of new religions and faddist movements, all 
testify to the power this form of seemingly convincing 
argument has over the great mass of the ignorant. 

The Fallacy of Tradition. In discussing the burden 
of proof it was said that such burden rests upon the 
advocate of change, or novel introductions, etc. This 
tendency of the people at large to be rather conservative 
in practice links with the fallacy of tradition, the belief 
that whatever is, is right. In many cases such a faith 
is worse than wrong, it is pernicious. Many of the 
questions concerning relations of modern society — 
as capital and labor — are based upon this fallacy. 
Henry Clay was guilty of it when he announced, 
" Two hundred years of legislation have sanctioned and 



REFUTING 249 

sanctified negro slaves as property." The successful 
way to dispose of such a fallacy is illustrated by 
William Ellery Channing's treatment of this statement. 

But this property, we are told, is not to be questioned on 
account of its long duration. " Two hundred years of legis- 
lation have sanctioned and sanctified negro slaves as prop- 
erty." Nothing but respect for the speaker could repress 
criticism on this unhappy phraseology. We will trust it 
escaped him without thought. But to confine ourselves to 
the argument from duration; how obvious the reply! Is 
injustice changed into justice by the practice of the ages? 
Is my victim made a righteous prey because I have bowed 
him to the earth till he cannot rise? For more than two 
hundred years heretics were burned, and not by mobs, not 
by lynch law, but by the decrees of the councils, at the in- 
stigation of theologians, and with the sanction of the laws 
and religions of nations; and was this a reason for keeping 
up the fires, that they had burned two hundred years? 
In the Eastern world successive despots, not for two hundred 
years, but for twice two thousand have claimed the right of 
life and death over millions, and, with no law but their own 
will, have beheaded, bowstrung, starved, tortured unhappy 
men without number who have incurred their wrath; and 
does the lapse of so many centuries sanctify murder and 
ferocious power? 

Attacking a Speaker's Character or Principles. 
Sometimes a speaker who finds himself unable to at- 
tack the truth of a proposition, or the arguments cited 
to support it, changes his tactics from the subject- 
matter to the opponent himself and delivers an attack 
upon his character, principles, or former beliefs and 
statements. This is called the argumentum ad hominem. 
In no sense is it really argument; it is irrelevant attack, 



250 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

and should be answered in a clear accurate demonstra- 
tion of its unsuitability to the topic under consideration. 
It is unworthy, of course, but it is a tempting device 
for the speaker who can combine with it an appeal to 
the prejudices or passions of his audience. 

The author has seen the entire population of Rome 
agitated because in a Senatorial debate one speaker at- 
tacked the family reputation of one of his opponents — 
a matter which, even if true, certainly had nothing to 
do with the bill under discussion. Political campaigns 
used to be disgraced by a prevalence of such appeals for 
votes. We may pride ourselves upon an advance in 
such matters, but there is still too much of it to let us j 
congratulate ourselves upon our political good manners. I 
You cannot ascribe bad faith to a man who argues now 
from a different attitude from the one he formerly sup- 
ported. Changes of conviction are frequent in all 
matters. A man must be judged by the reasons he 
gives for his position at any one time. Many a person, 
who ten years ago would have argued against it, now 
believes a League of Nations possible and necessary. 
Many a person who a few years back could see no ad- 
vantage in labor organizations is anxious now to join 
an affiliated union. 

If you find the suggestion of such an attack in any 
of your own speeches, cast it out. If it is ever used 
against you, refute it by the strength of arguments you 
deliver in support of your position. Remove all as- 
sertions which do not relate to the debated topic. Make 
your audience sympathize with your repudiation of the 
remarks of your opponent, even though he has sue 
ceeded in delivering them. 



: 



REFUTING 251 

Fallacies of Causal Relationship. The various fal- 
lacies that may be committed under the relation of 
cause and effect are many. Just because something 
happened prior to something else (the effect), the first 
may be mistakenly quoted as the cause. Or the re- 
verse may be the error — the second may be assumed 
to be the effect of the first. The way to avoid this 
fallacy was suggested in the discussion of explanation 
by means of cause and effect where the statement was 
made that two events must not be merely sequential, 
they must be consequential. In argument the slightest 
gap in the apparent relationship is likely to result in 
poor reasoning, and the consequent fallacy may be 
embodied in the speech. When people argue to prove 
i that superstitions have come true, do they present clear 
reasoning to show conclusively that the alleged cause — 
I such as sitting thirteen at table — actually produced 
4 the effect of a death? Do they establish a close causal 
j relationship, or do they merely assert that after a group 
of thirteen had sat at table some one did die? Mathe- 
jmatically, would the law of chance or probability not 
i indicate that such a thing would happen a little less 
surely if the number had been twelve, a little more 
surely if fourteen? 

Common sense, clear headedness, logical reasoning, 
and a wide knowledge of all kinds of things will enable 
a speaker to recognize these fallacies, anticipate them, 
and successfully refute them. 

Methods of Refuting. Having found the fallacies 
in an argument you should proceed to refute them. 
Just how you can best accomplish your purpose of 
weakening your opponent's position, of disposing of his 



252 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

arguments, of answering his contentions, must depend 
always upon the particular circumstances of the occa- 
sion, of the material presented, of the attitude of the 
judges or audience, of your opponent himself, and of 
the purpose you are striving to accomplish. Practice, 
knowledge, skill, will in such cases all serve your end. 
You should be able to choose, and effectively use the 
best. It is impossible to anticipate and provide for all 
the possibilities, but a few of the most common prob- 
abilities and the methods of dealing with them can be 
here set down. 

Courteous Correction. In case of apparent error or 
over-sight you will do well to be courteous rather than 
over-bearing and dictatorial in your correction. Never 
risk losing an advantage by driving your audience into 
sympathy for your opponent by any manner of your 
own. A newspaper discussing the objections made to 
the covenant of the League of Nations points out an 
over-sight in this way : " How did Senator Knox happen 
to overlook the fact that his plan for compulsory ar- 
bitration is embodied in Article XII of the proposed 
covenant? " 

Refuting Incorrect Analogy. The caution was given 
that reasoning from analogy must show the complete 
correspondence in all points possible of the known from 
which the reasoning proceeds to the conclusion about 
the unknown, which then is to be accepted as true. 
Unless that complete correspondence is established 
firmly the speaker is likely to have his carefully 
worked out analogy demolished before his eyes. 
Notice how such refutation is clearly demonstrated in 
the following. 



REFUTING 253 

So it does; but the sophistry here is plain enough, although 
it is not always detected. Great genius and force of char- 
acter undoubtedly make their own career. But because 
Walter Scott was dull at school, is a parent to see with joy 
that his son is a dunce? Because Lord Chatham was of a 
towering conceit, must we infer that pompous vanity por- 
tends a comprehensive statesmanship that will fill the world 
with the splendor of its triumphs? Because Sir Robert Wal- 
pole gambled and swore and boozed at Houghton, are we to 
suppose that gross sensuality and coarse contempt of human 
nature are the essential secrets of a power that defended 
liberty against tory intrigue and priestly politics? Was it 
because Benjamin Franklin was not college-bred that he 
drew the lightning from heaven and tore the scepter from 
the tyrant? Was it because Abraham Lincoln had little 
schooling that his great heart beat true to God and man, 
lifting him to free a race and die for his country? Because 
men naturally great have done great service in the world with- 
out advantages, does it follow that lack of advantage is the 
secret of success? 

George William Curtis: The Public Duty of Educated Men, 1877 

Reducing Proof to Absurdity. A very good way of 
showing the unreliability of an opposing argument is 
to pretend to accept it as valid, then carrying it on to 
a logical conclusion, to show that its end proves en- 
tirely too much, or that it reduces the entire chain of 
reasoning to absurdity. This is, in fact, called reductio 
ad ahsurdum. At times the conclusion is so plainly 
going to be absurd that the refuter need not carry its 
successive steps into actual delivery. In speaking to 
large groups of people nothing is better than this for 
use as an effective weapon. It gives the hearers the 
feeling that they have assisted in the damaging demon- 



254 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

stration. It almost seems as though the speaker who 
uses it were merely using — as he really is — material 
kindly presented to him by his opponent. So the two 
actually contribute in refuting the first speaker's 
position. 

Congress only can declare war; therefore, when one State 
is at war with a foreign nation, all must be at war. The 
President and the Senate only can make peace; when peace 
is made for one State, therefore, it must be made for all. 

Can anything be conceived more preposterous, than that 
any State should have power to nullify the proceedings of the 
general government respecting peace and war? When war 
is declared by a law of Congress, can a single State nullify 
that law, and remain at peace? And yet she may nullify 
that law as well as any other. If the President and Senate 
make peace, may one State, nevertheless, continue the war? 
And yet, if she can nullify a law, she may quite as well nullify 
a treaty. 

Daniel Webster: The Constitution Not a Compact between 

Sovereign States, 1833 

Lincoln could always use this method of reductio ad 
absurdum most effectively because he seldom failed to 
accentuate the absurdity by some instance which made 
clear to the least learned the force of his argument. 
Many of his best remembered quaint and picturesque 
phrases were embodied in his serious demolition of 
some high-handed presumption of a political leader. 

Under all these circumstances, do you really feel your- 
selves justified to break up this government unless such a 
court decision as yours is shall be at once submitted to as a 
conclusive and final rule of political action? But you will 
not abide the election of a Republican President! In that 



REFUTING 255 

supposed event, you say, you will destroy the Union; and 
then, you say, the great crime of having destroyed it will be 
upon us! That is cool. A highwayman holds a pistol to 
my ear, and mutters through his teeth, " Stand and deliver, 
or I shall kill you, and then you will be a murderer! " 

Abraham Lincoln: Cooper Union Speech, 1860 

Amplifying and Diminishing. Finally a good method 
of refuting the claim of importance made for an op- 
posing proposition is by amplifying and diminishing. 
In plain terms this depends upon contrast in which you 
reduce the value of the opposing idea and emphasize 
the value of your own. An excellent use for this is as a 
rapid summary at the end of your speech, where it will 
leave in the hearer's mind an impression of the com- 
parative value of the two views he has heard discussed, 
with an inevitable sense of the unquestioned worth of 
one above the other. Burke sums up his extended 
refutations of Lord North's plan for dealing with 
America in these telling contrasts. 

Compare the two. This I offer to give you is plain and 
simple; the other full of perplexed and intricate mazes. This 
is mild; that harsh. This found by experience effectual for 
its purposes; the other is a new project. This is universal; 
the other calculated for certain colonies only. This is im- 
mediate in its conciliatory operation; the other remote, 
contingent, full of hazard. Mine is what becomes the dig- 
nity of a ruling people — gratuitous, unconditional — and 
not held out as a matter of bargain and sale. 

Edmund Burke: Conciliation with America, 1775 

Position of Refutation in the Speech. The position 
of refutation in the finished speech will depend always 
upon the nature of the proposition, the exact method 



256 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






of the refutation, and the audience. If you are making 
the only speech upon the proposition and you feel that 
the audience may have a slight prejudice against what 
you are about to urge, you may gain adherents at once 
by refuting at the beginning the possible arguments 
in their minds. By this procedure you will clear the 
field for your own operations. To change the figure of 
speech, you erase from the slate what is already written 
there, so that you may place upon it your own speech 
and its convictions. 

If you are debating and the speaker just before you 
has evidently made the judges accept his arguments, 
again you might remove that conviction by refutation 
before you proceed to build up your own side. If your 
regular arguments meet his squarely, proceed as you 
had planned, but be sure when any reasoning you offer 
nullifies any he has delivered, that you call the attention 
of the audience to the fact that you have wiped out 
his score. In this way your constructive argument 
and refutation will proceed together. You will save 
valuable time. 

Constructive Argument Is More Valuable than Ref- 
utation. Often the rebuttal speeches of debate, com- 
ing at the close of the regular debate speeches, seem 
reserved for all the refutation. This is certainly the 
place for much refutation, certainly not all. The last 
speakers of the rebuttal speeches should never rest 
content with leaving only refutation in the hearers' 
minds. If they do, the debate may leave the condi- 
tion entirely where it was at the beginning, for the- 
oretically every argument advanced by either side has 
been demolished by the other. After the rebuttal the 



REFUTING 257 

last points left with the judges should be constructive 
arguments. 

In a single speech the refutation may be delivered in 
sections as the demands of coherence and the oppor- 
tunities for emphasis may suggest. Here again, always 
make the last section a constructive one with arguments 
in support of your proposition. 



CHAPTER XII 

DEBATING 

The Ideal of Debating. A long time ago so ad- 
mirable a man as William Penn stated the high ideal 
of all real debating whether practised in the limited 
range of school interests or in the extended field of life's 
activities. 

In all debates let truth be thy aim, not victory, or an 
unjust interest; and endeavor to gain, rather than to expose 
thy antagonist. 

The quotation states exactly the true aim of all 
debating — the conclusion of the right, the truth 
rather than the securing of a decision over an opponent. 
The same rules which animate the true lover of sports, 
the clear distinction which is instilled into all par- 
ticipants of amateur athletics of the meanings and 
significance of the two terms sportsman and sport, can 
be carried over to apply to school activities in debating. 
Honest differences of opinion among people upon 
countless questions will always furnish enough material 
for regular debating so that no one need ever do 
violence to his convictions. 

Value of Debate. One of the greatest educational 
values of practice in debate is that the ability it de- 
velops can be applied instantly in the life beyond the 
schoolroom, that it operates in every person's daily 

258 



DEBATING £59 

life. There are differences in the manner in which 
debating is carried on in the two places, but practice 
in the earlier will result in skill and self-confidence in 
the second. 

Debate in Actual Life. The most marked difference 
between debates in the two phases of life is the dif- 
ference of form. In academic circles debate is a well- 
regulated game between matched sides. In actual life 
only in certain professions are the rules well defined. 
In most cases the debating is disguised under different 
forms, though the essential purposes and methods are 
the same. 

Debate between lawyers in courts — technically 
termed pleading — is the most formal of all professional 
debating. Its regulations are found in the stabilized court 
procedure which every lawyer must master and obey. 

Much looser than the formal debate of the court 
room is the speech-making of the legislative organiza- 
tion from the lowest township board meeting up to 
the Senate of the United States. Of course the mem- 
bers of such bodies are regulated by certain restrictions, 
but the speeches are not likely to be curbed in time as 
are academic performances, nor are the speakers likely 
to follow a prearranged order, nor are they always 
equally balanced in number, nor do they agree so care- 
fully upon " team work." Sometimes in a legislative 
body the first speaker may be on the negative side, 
which is quite contrary to all the rules of regularly con- 
ducted debates. All the speakers may also be on one 
side of a measure, the opposing side not deigning to 
reply, resting secure in the knowledge of how many votes 
they can control when the real test of power comes. 



260 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Most informal of all are the general discussions in 
which business matters are decided. In these the 
speeches are never so set as in the two preceding kinds. 
The men are less formal in their relations and addresses 
to one another. The steps are less marked in their 
changes. Yet underneath the seeming lack of regula- 
tion there is the framework of debate, for there is 
always present the sense of two sides upon every 
proposition, whether it be the purchase of new office 
equipment for a distant agent, an increase of salary 
for employees, or the increase of capitalization. Certain 
speakers support some proposition. Others oppose it 
until they are convinced and won over to the affirmative 
side, or until they are out- voted. 

Two men seated in an office may themselves be 
debaters, audience, and judges of their own argumenta- 
tive opinions. They may in themselves fill all the 
requirements of a real debate. They deliver the 
speeches on the affirmative and negative sides. Each 
listens to the arguments of his opponent. And finally, 
the pair together give a decision upon the merits of the 
arguments presented. 

On all such occasions the speakers need and use 
just those qualities which classroom training has 
developed in them — knowledge of material, plan of 
presentation, skill in expression, conviction and per- 
suasion of manner, graceful acceptance of defeat. 

Debating Demands a Decision. Debating goes one 
step farther than merely argumentative speaking. 
Debating demands a decision upon the case, it requires 
a judgment, a registered action. Again in this respect 
it is like a game. 



DEBATING 261 



EXERCISES 



1. Make a list of propositions which have been debated 
or might be debated in a courtroom. 

2. Make another list of propositions which have been 
debated or might be debated in legislative bodies. 

3. Make a list of propositions which might be debated in 
business. 

4. As far as is possible, indicate the decisions upon them. 

5. Choose some proposition on which there is considerable 
difference of opinion in the class. Make a list of those who 
favor and those who oppose. Speak upon the proposition, 
alternating affirmative and negative. 

6. Discuss the speeches delivered in the fifth exercise. 

Persons Involved in a Debate. Who are the persons 
involved in a regular debate? They are the presiding 
officer, the speakers themselves, the audience, the 
judges. 

The Presiding Officer. Every debate has a pre- 
siding officer. The Vice-President of the United States 
is the presiding officer of the Senate. The Speaker is 
the presiding officer of the House of Representatives. 
If you will refer to Chapter IV on Beginning the Speech 
you will see several other titles of presiding officers. 
In school debates the head of the institution may act 
in that capacity, or some person of note may be invited 
to preside. In regular classroom work the instructor 
may serve as presiding officer, or some member of the 
class may be chosen or appointed. The latter method 
is the best — after the instructor has shown by ex- 
ample just what the duties of such a position are. 

The presiding officer should announce the topic of 
debate in a short introductory speech. He should 



262 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

read the names of the speakers on the affirmative and 
those on the negative side. He should stipulate the 
terms of the debate — length of each speech, time for 
rebuttal, order of rebuttal, method of keeping speakers 
within time limits, conditions of judgment (material, 
presentation, etc.), announce the judges, and finally 
introduce the first speaker; then the subsequent 
speakers. At the close he might refer to the fact of the 
debate's being ended, he might rehearse the conditions 
of judgment, and request the judges to retire to con- 
sider their decision. Practice varies as to who shall 
deliver the decision of the judges to the audience. 
Sometimes the chairman elected by the judges an- 
nounces the decision. Sometimes the judges hand the 
decision to the presiding officer who announces it. 

The Debaters. Beyond saying that the speakers 
must do their best, there is nothing to be added here 
about their duty in the debate except to issue one 
warning to them in connection with the next personal 
element to be considered — the audience. 

The Audience. Debaters must remember that in 
practically no circumstances outside legislative bodies 
are the audience and the judges ever the same. De- 
baters argue to convince the judges — not the entire 
audience, who are really as disconnected from the 
decision of the debate as are the straggling spectators 
and listeners in a courtroom detached from the jury 
who render the verdict of guilty or not guilty. The 
debater must therefore speak for the judges, not for 
his audience. Many a debating team has in the 
course of its speeches won all the applause only to be 
bitterly disappointed in the end by hearing the decision 



DEBATING 263 

awarded to the other side. Recall the warnings given 
in the previous chapters against the tempting fallacies 
of appealing to crowd feelings and prejudices. 

In classroom debates it is a good distribution of 
responsibility to make all the members not participat- 
ing in the speaking act as judges and cast votes in 
rendering a decision. This makes the judges and the 
audience one. Moreover it changes the mere listener 
into a discriminating judge. If the instructor cares 
to carry this matter of responsibility one step farther, 
he can ask the members of the class to explain and 
justify their votes. 

The audience, when it is also the judge, has the 
responsibility of careful attention, analysis, and com- 
parison. It is too much to expect usual general audi- 
ences to refuse to be moved by unworthy pleas and 
misrepresentations, to accord approval only to the 
best speakers and the soundest arguments. But surely 
in a class of public speakers any such tricks and schemes 
should be received with stolid frigidity. Nothing is 
so damaging to appeals to prejudice, spread-eagleism, 
and fustian bombast as an impassive reception. 

The Judges. In any debate the judges are of 
supreme importance. They decide the merits of the 
speakers themselves. The judges are of infinitely 
more importance than the audience. In interscholastic 
debates men of some prominence are invited to act as 
judges. In the instructions to them it should be made 
clear that they are not to decide which side of a proposi- 
tion they themselves approve. They are to decide 
which group of speakers does the best work. They 
should try to be merely the impersonal registers of 



264 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

comparative merit. They should sink their own feel- 
ings as every teacher must when he hears a good speech 
from one of his own students supporting something to 
which the instructor is opposed. Good judges of de- 
bates realize this and frequently award decisions to 
speakers who support opposite positions to their per- 
sonal opinions. They must not be like the judges in 
an interscholastic debate who announced their decision 
thus, " The judges have decided that China must not 
be dismembered." That was an interesting fact per- 
haps, but it had nothing to do with their duty as judges 
of that debate. 

In business, the buyer, the head of the department, 
the board of directors, constitute the judges who render 
the decision. In legislative assemblies the audience 
and judges are practically identical, for after the debate 
upon a measure is concluded, those who have listened 
to it render individual verdicts by casting their votes. 
In such cases we frequently see decisions rendered 
not upon the merits of the debate, but according to 
class prejudice, personal opinion, or party lines. This 
is why so many great argumentative speeches were 
accounted failures at the time of their delivery. De- 
livered to secure majority votes they failed to carry 
conviction to the point of changing immediate action, 
and so in the small temporary sense they were failures. 
In legal trials the jury is the real judge, although by 
our peculiar misapplication of the term a different 
person entirely is called judge. In court the judge is 
in reality more often merely the presiding officer. He 
oversees the observance of all the rules of court practice, 
keeps lawyers within the regulations, instructs the jury, 



DEBATING 265 

receives the decision from them, and then applies the 
law. Every lawyer speaks — not to convince the 
judge — but to convince the jury to render a decision 
in his favor. 

Scholastic Debating. Choosing the Proposition. In 
school debating the proposition may be assigned by 
the instructor or it may be chosen by him from a number 
submitted by the class. The class itself may choose 
by vote a proposition for debate. In interscholastic 
debating the practice now usually followed is for one 
school to submit the proposition and for the second 
school to decide which side it prefers to support. In 
any method the aim should be to give neither side any 
advantage over the other. The speakers upon the 
team may be selected before the question of debate is 
known. It seems better, when possible, to make the 
subject known first and then secure as speakers upon 
both sides, students who have actual beliefs upon the 
topic. Such personal conviction always results in 
keener rivalry. 

Time Limits. Since no debate of this kind must last 
too long, time restrictions must be agreed upon. In 
every class, conditions will determine these terms. 
Three or four speakers upon each side make a good 
team. If each is allowed six minutes the debate 
should come well within an hour and still allow some 
time for voting upon the presentations. It should be 
distinctly understood that a time limit upon a speaker 
must be observed by him or be enforced by the presiding 
officer. 

The speakers upon one side will arrange among them- 
selves the order in which they will speak but there 



266 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

should be a clear understanding beforehand as to 
whether rebuttal speeches are to be allowed. 

Rebuttal Speeches. Rebuttal speeches are addi- 
tional speeches allowed to some or all the speakers 
of a debating team after the regular argumentative 
speeches have been delivered. In an extended formal 
debate all the speakers may thus appear a second time. 
In less lengthy discussions only some of them may be 
permitted to appear a second time. As the last speaker 
has the advantage of making the final impression upon 
the judges it is usual to offset this by reversing the order 
of rebuttal. In the first speeches the negative always 
delivers the last speech. Sometimes the first affirma- 
tive speaker is allowed to follow with the single speech 
in rebuttal. If the team consist of three speakers and 
all are allowed to appear in rebuttal the entire order 
is as follows. 

First Part Rebuttal 

First affirmative First negative 

First negative First affirmative 

Second affirmative Second negative 

Second negative Second affirmative 

Third affirmative Third negative 

Third negative Third affirmative 

If not all the speakers are to speak in rebuttal the 
team itself decides which of its members shall speak for 
all. 

Preparation. The proposition should be decided on 
and the teams selected long enough in advance to allow 
for adequate preparation. Every means should be em- 
ployed to secure sufficient material in effective arrange- 



DEBATING 267 

ment. Once constituted, the team should consider 
itself a unit. Work should be planned in conference and 
distributed among the speakers. At frequent meetings 
they should present to the side all they are able to find. 
They should lay out a comprehensive plan of support 
of their own side. They should anticipate the argu- 
ments likely to be advanced by the other, and should 
provide for disposing of them if they are important 
enough to require refuting. It is a good rule for 
every member of a debating team to know all the ma- 
terial on his side, even though part of it is definitely 
assigned to another speaker. 

This preliminary planning should be upon a definite 
method. A good outline to use, although some parts 
may be discarded in the debate itself, is the following 
simple one. 

I. State the proposition clearly. 

1. Define the terms. 

2. Explain it as a whole. 
II. Give a history of the case. 

1. Show its present bearing or aspect. 

III. State the issues. 

IV. Prove. 
V. Refute. 

VI. Conclude. 

Finding the Issues. In debating, since time is so 
valuable, a speaker must not wander afield. He must 
use all his ability, all his material to prove his conten- 
tion. It will help him to reject material not relevant 
if he knows exactly what is at issue between the two 
sides. It was avoiding the issue to answer the charge 



268 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

that Charles I was a tyrant by replying that he was a 
good husband. Unless debaters realize exactly what 
must be proven to make their position secure, there 
will be really no debate, for the two sides will never 
meet in a clash of opinion. They will pass each other 
without meeting, and instead of a debate they will 
present a series of argumentative speeches. This failure 
to state issues clearly and to support or refute them 
convincingly is one of the most common faults of all 
debating. In ordinary conversation a frequently heard 
criticism of a discussion or speech or article is "But 
that was not the point at issue at all." These issues 
must appear in the preliminary plans, in the finished 
brief, and in the debate itself. 

The only point in issue between us is, how long after an 
author's death the State shall recognize a copyright in his 
representatives and assigns; and it can, I think, hardly be 
disputed by any rational man that this is a point which the 
legislature is free to determine in the way which may appear 
to be most conducive to the general good. 

Thomas Babentgton Macaulay: Copyright, 1841 

Mr. President, the very first question that challenges our 
attention in the matter of a league of nations is the question 
of whether a war in Europe is a matter of concern to the 
United States. The ultraopponents of any league of nations 
assert that European quarrels and European battles are 
no concern of ours. If that be true, we may well pause before 
obligating ourselves to make them our concern. Is it true? 
Senator P. J. McCumber: The League of Nations, 1919 

The best method of finding the issues is to put down 
in two columns the main contentions of both sides. 
By eliminating those entries which are least important 



DEBATING 



269 



and those which have least bearing upon the present 
case the issues may be reduced to those which the 
debate should cover* Any possible attempt to cloud 
the issues on the part of the opposing side can thus be 
forestalled. All the speakers on one side should par- 
ticipate in this analysis of the proposition to find and 
state the issues. 

The New York Tribune, by parallel columns, brought 
out these chief points of difference between the Paris 
plan and Senator Knox's for the League of Nations. 



THE KNOX PLAN 

League formed of all, not 
a portion, of the nations of 
the world. 



War to be declared an in- 
ternational crime, and any 
nation engaging in war, ex- 
cept in self-defense when 
actually attacked, to be pun- 
ished by the world as an 
international criminal. 



THE PARIS PLAN 

Under Article VII it is pro- 
vided that no state shall be 
admitted unless it is able to 
give guaranties of its inten- 
tion to observe its interna- 
tional obligations and con- 
form to the principles 
prescribed by the League 
in regard to its naval and 
military forces and arma- 
ments. 

Article XVI provides that 
should any of the high 
contracting parties break 
covenants under Article XII 
(relating to arbitration) it 
shall be deemed to have com- 
mitted an act of war against 
the League, which under- 
takes to exercise economic 
pressure; and it is to be the 
duty of the executive council 



270 



PUBLIC SPEAKING 



The Monroe Doctrine to 
be safeguarded; also our im- 
migration policy and our 
right to expel aliens. 



Our right to maintain mili- 
tary and naval establish- 
ments and coaling stations, 
and our right to fortify the 
Panama Canal and our 
frontiers to be safeguarded. 



An international court to 
be empowered by the League 
to call upon the signatory 
Powers to enforce its decrees 
against unwilling states by 
force, economic pressure, or 



itary 



to recommend what milita] 
or naval force the members 
of the League shall con- 
tribute to be used to protect 
the covenants of the League. 
None of these matters is 
mentioned specifically, but 
President Wilson has said 
that the League will " extend 
the Monroe Doctrine to the 
whole world " and that do- 
mestic and internal questions 
are not a concern of the 
League. 

Article VIII says: "The 
executive council shall also 
determine for the considera- 
tion and action of the several 
governments what military 
equipment and armament is 
fair and reasonable and in 
proportion to the scale of 
forces laid down in the pro- 
gram of disarmament, and 
these limits when adopted 
shall not be exceeded without 
the permission of the exec- 
utive council." 

Article XIV provides for 
the establishment of a " per- 
manent court of international 
justice," but its powers are 
limited to hearing and de- 
termining " any matter 



DEBATING 271 

otherwise. The constitution which the parties recognize 
of the League to provide, as suitable for submission to 
however, that decrees against it for arbitration " under 
an American Power shall be Article XIII. 
enforced by the nations of 
this hemisphere, and decrees 
against a country of the 
eastern hemisphere by the 
Powers of that hemisphere. 

Team Work. With the plan agreed upon by the 
speakers, the brief made out, and the material dis- 
tributed, each speaker can go to work in earnest to 
prepare his single speech. The best method has been 
outlined in this book. His notes should be accurate, 
clear, easily manipulated. His quotations should be 
exact, authoritative. By no means should he mem- 
orize his speech. Such stilted delivery would result 
in a series of formal declamations. With his mind 
stocked with exactly what his particular speech is to 
cover, yet familiar enough with the material of his 
colleagues to use it should he need it, the debater is 
ready for the contest. 

Manipulating Material. The speakers on a side 
should keep all their material according to some sys- 
tem. If cards are used, arguments to be used in the 
main debate might be arranged in one place, material 
for rebuttal in another, quotations and statistics in 
still another. Then if the other side introduces a 
point not anticipated it should be easy to find the 
refuting or explaining material at once to counteract 
its influence in the next speech, if it should be disposed 
of at once. If slips of paper are used, different colors 



272 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






might indicate different kinds of material. Books, 
papers, reports, to be used should always be within 
available distance. While a speaker for the other side 
is advancing arguments the speaker who will follow 
him should be able to change, if necessary, his entire 
plan of defense or attack to meet the manceuver. He 
should select from the various divisions upon the table 
the material he needs, and launch at once into a speech 
which meets squarely all the contentions advanced by 
his predecessor. This instantaneous commandeering 
of material is likely to be most usual in rebuttal, but 
a good debater must be able to resort to it at a second's 
notice. 

The First Affirmative Speaker. The first affirma- 
tive speaker must deliver some kind of introduction to 
the contentions which his side intends to advance. It 
is his duty to be concise and clear in this. He must 
not use too much time. If the proposition needs de- 
fining and applying he must not fail to do it. He must 
not give the negative the opportunity to explain and 
apply to its own purposes the meaning of the proposi- 
tion. He should state in language which the hearers 
will remember exactly what the issues are. He can 
help his own side by outlining exactly what the affirma- 
tive intends to prove. He may indicate just what 
portions will be treated by his colleagues. He should 
never stop with merely introducing and outlining. 
Every speaker must advance proof, the first as well as 
the others. If the preliminary statements by the first 
affirmative speaker are clearly and convincingly de- 
livered, and if he places a few strong, supporting reasons 
before the judges, he will have started his side very well 



DEBATING 273 

upon its course of debating. The last sentences of 
his speech should drive home the points he has proved. 

The First Negative Speaker. The first negative 
speaker either agrees with the definitions and applica- 
tion of the proposition as announced by the first affirma- 
tive speaker or he disagrees with them. If the latter, 
the mere statement of his disagreement is not sufficient. 
Contradiction is not proof. He must refute the defini- 
tion and application of the proposition by strong 
reasoning and ample proof . If his side does not admit 
the issues as already presented he must explain or 
prove them away and establish in their place the 
issues his side sees in the discussion. When the two 
sides disagree concerning the issues there is a second 
proposition erected for discussion at once and the 
argument upon this second matter may crowd out the 
attempted argument upon the main proposition. To 
obviate such shifting many schools have the sides 
exchange briefs or statements of issues before the debate 
so that some agreement will be reached upon essentials. 

In addition to the matters just enumerated the first 
negative speaker should outline the plan his side will 
follow, promising exactly what things will be estab- 
lished by his colleagues. If he feels that the first 
affirmative speaker has advanced proofs strong enough 
to require instant refutation he should be able to meet 
those points at once and dispose of them. If they do 
not require immediate answering, or if they may safely 
be left for later refutation in the regular rebuttal, he 
may content himself with simply announcing that 
they will be answered. He should not allow the 
audience to believe that his side cannot meet them. 



274 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

He must not give the impression that he is evading 
them. If he has to admit their truth, let him frankly 
say so, showing, if possible, how they do not apply or 
do not prove all that is claimed for them, or that though 
they seem strong in support of the affirmative the 
negative side has still stronger arguments which by 
comparison refute at least their effect. 

The first negative speaker should not stop with mere 
refutation. If the first affirmative has advanced proofs, 
and the first negative disposes of them, the debate is 
exactly where it was at the beginning. The negative 
speaker must add convincing arguments of his own. It 
is a good thing to start with one of the strongest 
negative arguments in the material. 

The Second Affirmative and Second Negative 
Speakers. The second affirmative and the second 
negative speakers have very much the same kind of 
speech to make. Taking the immediate cues from 
the preceding speaker each may at first pay some 
attention to the remarks of his opponent. Here again 
there must be quickly decided the question already 
brought up by the first negative speech — shall argu- 
ments be refuted at once or reserved for such treatment 
in rebuttal? When this decision is made the next 
duty of each of these second speakers is to advance 
his side according to the plan laid down by his first 
colleague. He must make good the advance notice 
given of his team. 

Each position of a debater has its peculiar tasks. 
The middle speaker must not allow the interest aroused 
by the first to lag. If anything, his material and 
manner must indicate a rise over the opening speech. 



DEBATING 275 

He must start at the place where the first speaker 
stopped and carry on the contention to the place at 
which it has been agreed he will deliver it to the con- 
cluding speaker for his side. If this connection among 
all the speeches of one side is quite plain to the audience 
an impression of unity and coherence will be made 
upon them. This will contribute to the effect of cogent 
reasoning. They will realize that instead of listening 
to a group of detached utterances they have been fol- 
lowing a chain of reasoning every link of which is 
closely connected with all that precedes and follows. 

The Concluding Affirmative Speaker. The con- 
cluding affirmative speaker must not devote his entire 
speech to a conclusion by giving an extensive sum- 
mary or recapitulation. He must present arguments. 
Realizing that this is the last chance for original argu- 
ment from his side he may be assigned the very strong- 
est argument of all to deliver, for the effect of what he 
says must last beyond the concluding speech of the 
negative. It would likewise be a mistake for him to 
do nothing more than argue in his concluding speech. 
Several persons have intervened since his first col- 
league outlined their side and announced what they 
would prove. It is his duty to show that the affirma- 
tive has actually done what it set out to do. By 
amplifying and diminishing he may also show how 
the negative had not carried out its avowed intention 
of disproving the affirmative's position and proving 
conclusively its own. The concluding speech for the 
affirmative is an excellent test of a debater's ability to 
adapt himself to conditions which may have been 
entirely unforeseen when the debate began, of his keen- 



276 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

ness in analyzing the strength of the affirmative and 
exposing the weakness of the negative, of his power in 
impressing the arguments of his colleagues as well as 
his own upon the audience, and of his skill in bringing 
to a well-rounded, impressive conclusion his side's 
part in the debate. 

The Concluding Negative Speaker. The concluding 
negative speaker must judge whether his immediate 
predecessor, the concluding affirmative speaker, has 
been able to gain the verdict of the judges. If he fears 
that he has, he must strive to argue that conviction 
away. He too must advance proof finally to strengthen 
the negative side. He must make his speech answer 
to his first colleague's announced scheme, or if some 
change in the line of development has been necessitated, 
he must make clear why the first was replaced by the 
one the debaters have followed. If the arguments of 
the negative have proved what it was declared they 
would, the last speaker should emphasize that fact 
beyond any question in any one's mind. Finally he 
should save time for a fitting conclusion. This brings 
the debate proper to a close. 

Restrictions in Rebuttal. In rebuttal — if it be 
provided — the main restrictions are two. The speeches 
are shorter than the earlier ones. No new lines of 
argument may be introduced. Only lines of proof 
already brought forward may be considered. Since 
the speeches are shorter and the material is restricted 
there is always the disposition to use rebuttal speeches 
for refutation only. This is a mistake. Refute, but 
remember always that constructive argument is more 
likely to win decisions than destructive. Dispose of 



DEBATING 277 

as many points of the opponents as possible, but 
reiterate the supporting reasons of your own. Many 
speakers waste their rebuttals by trying to cover too 
many points. They therefore have insufficient time 
to prove anything, so they fall back upon bare con- 
tradiction and assertion. Such presentations are mere 
jumbles of statements. Choose a few important phases 
of the opposing side's contention. Refute them. 
Choose the telling aspects of your own case. Emphasize 
them. 

Manner in Debating. Be as earnest and convincing 
in your speeches as you can. Never yield to the 
temptation to indulge in personalities. Recall that 
other speakers should never be mentioned by name. 
They are identified by their order and their side, as 
" The first speaker on the affirmative " or "The 
speaker who preceded me," or "My colleague," or 
" My opponent." Avoid using these with tones and 
phrases of sarcasm and bitterness. Be fair and cour- 
teous in every way. Never indulge in such belittling 
expressions as " No one understands what he is trying 
to prove. He reels off a string of figures which mean 
nothing." Never indulge in cheap wit or attempts 
at satiric humor. 

Prepare so adequately, analyze so keenly, argue so 
logically, speak so convincingly, that even when your 
side loses, your opponents will have to admit that you 
forced them to do better than they had any idea they 
could. 



CHAPTER XIII 
SPEAKING UPON SPECIAL OCCASIONS 

Speech-making in the Professions. If a student 
enter a profession in which speech-making is the regular 
means of gaining his livelihood — as in law, religion, 
or lecturing — he will find it necessary to secure training 
in the technical methods applying to the particular 
kind of speech-making in which he will indulge. This 
book does not attempt to prepare any one for mastery 
of such special forms. The student will, however, be 
helping himself if he examines critically every delivery 
of a legal argument, sermon, or lecture he hears, 
for many of the rules illustrated by them and 
the impressions made by their speakers, can be trans- 
ferred as models to be imitated or specimens to be 
avoided in his own more restricted and less important 
world. 

Speaking upon Special Occasions. Every American 
may be called upon to speak upon some special occasion. 
If he does well at his first appearance he may be in- 
vited or required by circumstances to speak upon many 
occasions. The person who can interest audiences by 
effective delivery of suitable material fittingly adapted 
to the particular occasion is always in demand. Within 
the narrower confines of educational institutions the 
opportunities for the student to appear before his 
schoolmates are as numerous as in real life. Some 

278 



SPEAKING UPON SPECIAL OCCASIONS 279 

preliminary knowledge coupled with much practice will 
produce deep satisfaction upon successful achievement 
and result in rapid steps of self-development. 

Without pretending to provide for all possible cir- 
cumstances in which students and others may be called 
upon to speak, this chapter will list some of the special 
occasions for which speeches should be prepared. 

Speeches of Presiding Officers. On practically all 
occasions there is a presiding officer whose chief duty 
is to introduce to the audience the various speakers. 
The one great fault of speeches of introduction is that 
they are too long. The introducer sincerely means 
not to consume too much time, but in the endeavor 
to do justice to the occasion or the speaker he becomes 
involved in his remarks until they wander far from 
his definite purpose. He wearies the audience before 
the important speaker begins. An introducer should 
not become so unconscious of his real task as to fall 
into this error. In other cases the fault is not so in- 
nocent. Many a person called upon to introduce a 
speaker takes advantage of the chance to express his 
own opinions. He drops into the discourtesy of using 
for his own ends a condition of passive attention which 
was not created for him. One large audience which 
had assembled to hear a lecturer was kept from listen- 
ing to him while for twenty minutes the introducer 
aired his own pet theories. Of course members of the 
audience discussed among themselves the inappro- 
priateness of such remarks, but it is doubtful whether 
any criticism reached the offender. 

A newspaper recently had the courage to voice the 
feelings of audiences. 



280 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

It seems that a good deal of the time of the audience at 
the Coliseum the other night was taken by those who intro- 
duced the speakers of the evening. We are told in one ac- 
count of the meeting that the audience was at times im- 
patient of these preliminaries and even howled once or twice 
for those it had come to hear. . . . We are informed that 
all those introducing the speakers said something about 
not having risen to speak at length, and that one of them 
protested his inability to speak with any facility. Both these 
professions are characteristic of those introducing speakers 
of the evening. Yet, strangely enough, the same always 
happens. That is, the preliminaries wear the audience out 
before the people it came to hear can get at it. 

In introducing a speaker never be too long-winded. 
Tactfully, gracefully, courteously, put before the audi- 
ence such facts as the occasion, the reason for the topic 
of the speech, the fitness and appropriateness of the 
choice of the speaker, then present the man or woman. 
Be extremely careful of facts and names. A nominat- 
ing speaker at a great political convention ruined the 
effect of a speech by confusedly giving several first 
names to a distinguished man. It is embarrassing to a 
speaker to have to correct at the very beginning of his 
remarks a misstatement made by the presiding officer. 
But a man from one university cannot allow the audi- 
ence to identify him with another. The author of a 
book wants its title correctly given. A public official 
desires to be associated in people's minds with the de- 
partment he actually controls. 

The main purpose of a speech of introduction is to 
do for the succeeding speaker what the chapter on 
beginning the speech suggested — to render the audi- 



SPEAKING UPON SPECIAL OCCASIONS 281 

ence attentive and well-disposed, to introduce the 
topic, and in addition to present the speaker. 

Choosing a Theme. The speaker at a special oc- 
casion must choose the theme with due regard to the 
subject and the occasion. Frequently his theme will 
be suggested to him, so that it will already bear a close 
relation to the occasion when he begins its preparation. 
The next matter he must consider with extreme are 
is the treatment. Shall it be serious, informative, ar- 
gumentative, humorous, scoffing, ironic? To decide 
this he must weigh carefully the significance of the oc- 
casion. Selecting the inappropriate manner of treat- 
ment means risking the success of the speech. Recall 
how many men and speeches you have heard criticized 
as being " out of harmony with the meeting," or " not 
in spirit with the proceedings," and you will realize 
how necessary to the successful presentation is this 
delicate adjustment of the speech to the mood of the 
circumstances. 

The After-dinner Speech. When men and women 
have met to partake of good food under charming sur- 
roundings and have enjoyed legitimate gastronomic 
delights it is regrettable that a disagreeable element 
should be added by a series of dull, long-winded, un- 
appropriate after-dinner speeches. The preceding ad- 
jectives suggest the chief faults of those persons who 
are repeatedly asked to speak upon such occasions. 
They so often miss the mark. Because after-dinner 
speaking is so informal it is proportionally difficult. 
When called upon, a person feels that he must acknowl- 
edge the compliment by saying something. This, 
however, is not really enough. He must choose his 



282 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

theme and style of treatment from the occasion, If 
the toastmaster assign the topic he is safe so far as 
that is concerned, but he must still be careful of his 
treatment. 

A speaker at a dinner of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, 
in which membership is awarded for rank in cultural 
as contrasted with practical, technical studies, seized 
upon the chance to deliver a rather long, quite detailed 
legal explanation of the parole system for convicted 
offenders against laws. At a dinner given by the 
Pennsylvania Society in a state far from their original 
homes the members were praised to the skies for 
preserving the love of their native state and marking 
their identity in a district so distant and different. 
This was quite appropriate for an introduction but 
the speaker then turned abruptly to one of his political 
speeches and berated the foreigner in America for not 
becoming at once an entirely made-over citizen. The 
speech contradicted its own sentiments. A wrong 
emphasis was placed upon its material. A disquieting 
impression was made upon the Pennsylvanians. At 
the conclusion they felt that they were guilty for having 
kept the love of their native soil; according to the tone 
of the speaker they should have accepted their new 
residence and wiped out all traces of any early ties. 

An after-dinner speaker should remember that 
dinners are usually marks of sociability, goodfellow- 
ship, congratulation, celebration, commemoration. 
Speeches should answer to such motives. The apt 
illustration, the clever twist, the really good story or 
anecdote, the surprise ending, all have their places 
here, if they are used with grace, good humor, and 



SPEAKING UPON SPECIAL OCCASIONS 283 

tact. This does not preclude elements of information 
and seriousness, but such matters should be introduced 
skilfully, discussed sparingly, enforced pointedly. 

The Commemorative Speech. Besides dinners, 
other gatherings may require commemorative ad- 
dresses. These speeches are longer, more formal. 
The success of a debating team, the successful season of 
an athletic organization, the termination of a civic 
project, the election of a candidate, the celebration of 
an historic event, the tribute to a great man, suggest 
the kinds of occasions in which commemorative ad- 
dresses should be made. 

Chosen with more care than the after-dinner speaker, 
the person on such an occasion has larger themes with 
which to deal, a longer time for their development, and 
an audience more surely attuned to sympathetic recep- 
tion. He has more time for preparation also. In 
minor circumstances, such as the first three or four 
enumerated in the preceding paragraph, the note is 
usually congratulation for victory. Except in tone 
and length these speeches are not very different from 
after-dinner remarks. But when the occasion is more 
dignified, the circumstances more significant, addresses 
take on a different aspect. They become more soberly 
judicial, more temperately laudatory, more feelingly 
impressive. At such times public speaking approaches 
most closely to the old-fashioned idea of oratory, now 
so rapidly passing away, in its attempt to impress upon 
the audience the greatness of the occasion in which it 
is participating. The laying of a corner-stone, the 
completion of a monument or building, a national 
holiday/ the birthday of a great man, the date of an 



284 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

epoch-marking event, bring forth eulogistic tributes like 
Webster's speech at Bunker Hill, Lincoln's Gettysburg 
Address, Secretary Lane's Flag Day speech. 

False Eloquence. The beginner will not have many 
opportunities of delivering such remarkable addresses, 
but in his small sphere he will have chances to do 
similar things. He must beware of several faults of 
which the unwary are usually guilty. Recognizing the 
wonderful eloquence of the masterpieces of such kinds 
of address he may want to reproduce its effects by imi- 
tating its apparent methods. Nothing could be worse. 
The style of the great eulogy, born of the occasion and 
the speaker, becomes only exaggerated bombast and 
nonsense from the lips of a student. Exaggeration, 
high sounding terms, flowery language, involved con- 
structions, do not produce eloquence in the speaker. 
They produce discomfort, often smiles of ridicule, in 
the audience. Many a student intending to cover 
himself with glory by eulogizing the martyred Mc- 
Kinley or the dead Roosevelt has succeeded only in 
covering himself with derision. Simplicity, straight- 
forwardness, fair statement, should be the aims of 
beginning speakers upon such occasions. 

Speeches of Presentation and Acceptance. Standing 
between the two classes of speeches just discussed are 
speeches of presentation and acceptance. In prac- 
tically all circumstances where such remarks are suit- 
able there are present mingled feelings of celebration 
and commemoration. There is joy over something ac- 
complished, and remembrance of merit or success. So 
the person making a speech of presentation must 
mingle the two feelings as he and the audience ex- 






SPEAKING UPON SPECIAL OCCASIONS 285 

perience them. Taking his cue from the tone of the 
occasion he must fit his remarks to that mood. He 
may be as bright and sparkling and as amusing as a 
refined court jester. He may be as impressive and 
serious as a judge. The treatment must be determined 
by the circumstances. 

The speaker who replies must take his cue from the 
presenter. While the first has the advantage of carry- 
ing out his plan as prepared, the second can only dimly 
anticipate the theme he will express. At any rate he 
cannot so surely provide his beginning. That must 
come spontaneously from the turn given the material 
by his predecessor, although the recipient may pass 
by a transition to the remarks he prepared in advance. 

The observations which obtain in the presentation 
and acceptance of a material object — as a book, a 
silver tea set, a medal, an art gallery — apply just as 
well to the bestowal and acceptance of an honor, such 
as a degree from a university, an office, an appointment 
as head of a committee or as foreign representative, 
or membership in a society. Speeches upon such occa- 
sions are likely to be more formal than those delivered 
upon the transfer of a gift. The bes tower may cite the 
reasons for the honor, the fitness of the recipient, the 
mutual honors and obligations, and conclude with 
hopes of further attainments or services. The recipient 
may reply from a personal angle, explaining not only 
his appreciation, but his sense of obligation to a trust 
or duty, his methods of fulfilling his responsibilities, his 
modestly phrased hope or belief in his ultimate success. 

The Inaugural Speech. In this last-named respect 
the speech of the recipient of an honor is closely related 



286 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

to the speech of a person inaugurated to office. This 
applies to all official positions to which persons are 
elected or appointed. The examples which will spring 
into students' minds are the inaugural speeches of 
Presidents of the United States. A study of these will 
furnish hints for the newly installed incumbent of more 
humble positions. In material they are likely to be 
retrospective and anticipatory. They trace past causes 
up to present effects, then pass on to discuss future 
plans and methods. Every officer in his official ca- 
pacity has something to do. Newspaper articles will 
give you ideas of what officials should be doing. The 
office holder at the beginning of his term should make 
clear to his constituency, his organization, his class, his 
society, his school, just what he intends to try to do. 
He must be careful not to antagonize possible sup- 
porters by antagonistic remarks or opinions. He 
should try to show reason and expediency in all he urges. 
He should temper satisfaction and triumph with 
seriousness and resolve. Facts and arguments will be 
of more consequence than opinions and promises. The 
speech should be carefully planned in advance, clearly 
expressed, plainly delivered. Its statements should be 
weighed, as every one of them may be used later as 
reasons for support or attack. To avoid such conse- 
quences the careful politician often indulges in glittering 
generalities which mean nothing. A student in such 
conditions should face issues squarely, and without 
stirring up unnecessary antagonism, announce his 
principles clearly and firmly. If he has changed his 
opinion upon any subject he may just as well state his 
position so that no misunderstanding may arise later. 



SPEAKING UPON SPECIAL OCCASIONS 287 

In the exercise of his regular activities a person will 
have many opportunities to deliver this kind of speech. 

The Nominating Speech. Recommendation of him- 
self by a candidate for office does not fall within the 
plan of this book. Students, however, may indulge in 
canvassing votes for their favorite candidates, and this 
in some instances, leads to public speaking in class and 
mass meetings, assemblies, and the like. Of similar 
import is the nominating speech in which a member of 
a society, committee, meeting, offers the name of his 
candidate for the votes of as many as will indorse him. 
In nominating, it is a usual trick of arrangement to 
give first all the qualifications of the person whose 
election is to be urged, advancing all reasons possible 
for the choice, and uttering his name only in the very 
last words of the nominating speech. This plan works 
up to a cumulative effect which should deeply impress 
the hearers at the mention of the candidate's name. 

In nominating speeches and in arguments supporting 
a candidate the deliverer should remember two things. 
Constructive proof is better than destructive attack; 
assertion of opinion and personal preference is not proof. 
If it seems necessary at times to show the fitness of one 
candidate by contrast with another, never descend to 
personalities, never inject a tone of personal attack, of 
cheap wit, of ill-natured abuse. If such practices are 
resorted to by others, answer or disregard them with 
the courteous attention they deserve, no more. Do 
not allow yourself to be drawn into any discussion 
remote from the main issue — the qualifications of your 
own candidate. If you speak frequently upon such a 
theme — as you may during an extended campaign — 



288 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

notice which of your arguments make the strongest 
impressions upon the hearers. Discard the weaker 
ones to place more and more emphasis upon the con- 
vincing reasons. Never fail to study other speakers 
engaged in similar attempts. American life every day 
provides you with illustrations to study. 

The Speech in Support of a Measure. When, in- 
stead of a candidate, you are supporting some measure 
to be adopted, some reform to be instituted, some 
change to be inaugurated, your task is easier in one 
respect. There will be less temptation to indulge in 
personal matters. You will find it easier to adhere to 
your theme. In such attempts to mold public opin- 
ion — whether it be the collective opinion of a small 
school class, or a million voters — you will find oppor- 
tunities for the inclusion of every thing you know of 
the particular subject and of all human nature. Con- 
vinced yourself of the worthiness of your cause, bend 
every mental and intellectual effort to making others un- 
derstand as you do, see as you do. If your reasoning is 
clear and converting, if your manner is direct and sincere, 
you should be able to induce others to believe as you do. 

The Persuasive Speech. In public speaking upon 
occasions when votes are to be cast, where reforms are 
to be instituted, where changes are to be inaugurated, 
you have not finished when you have turned the mental 
attitude, and done no more. You must arouse the will 
to act. Votes must be cast for the measure you ap- 
prove. The reform you urge must be financed at once. 
The change must be registered. To accomplish such 
a purpose you must do more than merely prove; you 
must persuade. 



SPEAKING UPON SPECIAL OCCASIONS 289 

In the use of his power over people to induce them to 
noble, high-minded action lies the supreme importance 
of the public speaker. 

EXERCISES 

1. Choose some recent event which you and your friends 
might celebrate by a dinner. As toastmaster, deliver the 
first after-dinner remarks drawing attention to the occasion 
and introducing some one to speak. 

2. Deliver the after-dinner speech just introduced. 

3. Introduce some other member of the class, who is not 
closely connected with the event being celebrated, and who 
therefore is a guest. 

4. Deliver this speech, being careful to make your re- 
marks correspond to the preceding. 

5. A debating team has won a victory. Deliver the 
speech such a victory deserves. 

6. An athletic team has won a victory. As a non- 
participant, present the trophy. 

7. An athletic team has finished a season without winning 
the championship. Speak upon such a result. 

8. The city or state has finished some great project. 
Speak upon its significance. 

9. Address an audience of girls or women upon their 
right to vote. 

10. Speak in approval of some recently elected official in 
your community. 

11. Choose some single event in the history of your im- 
mediate locality. Speak upon it. 

12. Deliver a commemorative address suitable for the 
next holiday. 

13. Bring into prominence some man or woman con- 
nected with the past of your community. 

14. An unheralded hero. 



290 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

15. " They also serve who only stand and wait." 

16. " Peace hath her victories no less renowned than 
war." 

17. Deliver the speech to accompany the presentation of 
a set of books. 

18. Present to your community some needed memorial 
park, building, or other monument. 

19. Accept the gift for the community. 

20. Challenge another class to debate. 

21. Urge upon some organization support of some civic 
measure. 

22. As a representative of the students present some 
request to the authorities. 

23. A meeting has been called to hear you because of 
your association with some organization or movement. 
Deliver the speech. 

24. Some measure or movement is not being supported as 
it should be. A meeting of people likely to be interested 
has been called. Address the meeting. 

25. Appeal to your immediate associates to support some 
charitable work. 

26. Some organization has recently started a new project. 
Speak to it upon its task. 

27. An organization has successfully accomplished a new 
project. Congratulate it. 

28. Some early associate of yours has won recognition or 
success or fame away from home. He is about to return. 
Speak to your companions showing why they should honor 
him. 

29. Choose some person or event worthy of commemora- 
tion. Arrange a series of detailed topics and distribute them 
among members of the class. Set a day for their presenta- 
tion. 

30. Choose a chairman. On the appointed day have him 
introduce the topic and the speakers. 



CHAPTER XIV 
DRAMATICS 

Difference between Public Speaking and Acting. In 
practically all the aspects of public speaking you 
deliver your own thoughts in your own words. In 
dramatic presentation you deliver the words already 
written by some one else; and in addition, while you are 
delivering these remarks you speak as though you were 
no longer yourself, but a totally different person. This 
is the chief distinction between speaking in public and 
acting. While you must memorize the lines you deliver 
when you try to act like a character other than yourself, 
speeches in dramatic production are not like usual 
memorized selections. Usually a memorized selection 
does not express the feelings or opinions of a certain 
character, but is likely to be descriptive or narrative. 
Both prose and verse passages contain more than the 
uttered words of a single person. 

As preparation for exercise in dramatics, whether 
simple or elaborate, training in memorizing and practice 
in speaking are extremely valuable. Memorizing may 
make the material grow so familiar that it loses its 
interest for the speaker. Pupils frequently recite com- 
mitted material so listlessly that they merely bore 
hearers. Such a disposition to monotony should be 
neutralized by the ability to speak well in public. 

291 



292 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Naturalness and Sincerity. When you speak lines 
from a play inject as much naturalness and sincerity 
into your delivery as you can command. Speak the 
words as though they really express your own ideas and 
feelings. If you feel that you must exaggerate slightly 
because of the impression the remark is intended to 
make, rely more upon emphasis than upon any other 
device to secure an effect. Never slip into an affected 
manner of delivering any speech. No matter what 
kind of acting you have seen upon amateur or pro- 
fessional stage, you must remember that moderation 
is the first essential of the best acting. Recall what 
Shakespeare had Hamlet say to the players. 

Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus: 
but use all gently; for in the very torrent, tempest, and, 
as I may say, whirlwind of your passion, you must acquire 
and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness. Oh, 
it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious, periwig- 
pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to 
split the ears of the groundlings, who for the most part 
are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumbshows and 
noise. 

Character Delineation. In taking part in a play 
you must do more than simply recite words spoken by 
some one other than yourself. You must really act 
like that person. This adds to the simple delivery of 
speeches all those other traits by which persons in real 
life are different from one another. Such complete 
identification of your personality with that of the person 
you are trying to represent in a play is termed character 
delineation, or characterization. 



DRAMATICS 293 

You may believe that you cannot represent an 
Indian chief or a British queen, or an Egyptian slave, 
or a secret service agent, but if you will recall your 
childish pastime of day-dreaming you will see at once 
that you have quite frequently identified yourself with 
some one else, and in that other character you have 
made yourself experience the strangest and most thrill- 
ing adventures. When you study a role in a scene or 
play, use your imagination in that same manner. In 
a short time it will be easy for you to think as that other 
character would. Then you have become identified 
with him. The first step in your delineation has been 
taken. 

Visualize in your mind's eye — your imagination — 
the circumstances in which that character is placed in 
the play. See yourself looking, moving, acting as he 
would. Then talk as that character would in those 
circumstances. Make him react as he would naturally 
in the situations in which the dramatist has placed him* 

Let us try to make this more definite. Suppose a 
boy is chosen to act the part of an old man. An old 
man does not speak as rapidly as a boy does. He will 
have to change the speed of his speech. But suppose 
the old man is moved to wrath, would his words come 
slowly? Would he speak distinctly or would he almost 
choke? 

The girl who is delineating a foreign woman must 
picture her accent and hesitation in speaking English. 
She would give to her face the rather vacant question- 
ing look such a woman would have as the English speech 
flits about her, too quickly for her to comprehend all 
of it. 



294 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






The girl who tries to present a British queen in a 
Shakespeare play must not act as a pupil does in the 
school corridor. Yet if that queen is stricken in her 
feelings as a mother, might not all the royal dignity 
melt away j and her Majesty act like any sorrowing 
woman? 

EXERCISES 

You are sitting at a table or desk. The telephone rings. 
You pick up the receiver. A person at the other end invites 
you to dinner. Deliver your part of the conversation. 

1. Speak in your own character. 

2. Speak as a busy, quick-tempered old man in his 

disordered office. 

3. Speak as a tired wife who hasn't had a relief for 

weeks from the drudgery of house-work. 

4. Speak as a young debutante who has been enter- 

tained every day for weeks. 

5. Speak as the office boy. 

6. Speak as an over-polite foreigner. 

7. Delineate some other kind of person. 

Improvisations are here given first because such 
exercises depend upon the pupil's original interpretation 
of a character. The pupil is required to do so much 
clear thinking about the character he represents that 
he really creates it. 

Dialogues. As it is easier to get two people to 
speak naturally than where more are involved we shall 
begin conversation with dialogues. Each character 
will find the lines springing spontaneously from the 
situation. In dramatic composition any speech de- 
livered by a character is called a line, no matter how 
phort or long it is. 



DRAMATICS 295 

As you deliver the dialogues suggested by the exer- 
cises try to make your speeches sound natural. Talk 
as real people talk. Make the remarks conversational, 
or colloquial, as this style is also termed. What things 
will make conversation realistic? In actual talk, 
people anticipate. Speakers do not wait for others to 
finish. They interrupt. They indicate opinions and 
impressions by facial expression and slight bodily move- 
ments. Tone changes as feelings change. 

Try to make your remarks convey to the audience 
the circumstances surrounding the dialogue. Let the 
conversation make some point clear. Before you begin, 
determine in your own mind the characterization you 
intend to present. 

Situation. A girl buys some fruit from the keeper of 
a stand at a street corner. 

What kind of girl? Age? Manner of speaking? 
Courteous? Flippant? Well-bred? Slangy? Work- 
ing girl? Visitor to town? 

What kind of man? Age? American? Foreigner? 
From what country? Dialect? Disposition? Sus- 
picious? Sympathetic? 

Weather? Season of year? Do they talk about 
that? About themselves? Does the heat make her 
long for her home in the country? Does the cold make 
him think of his native Italy or Greece? Will her 
remarks change his short, gruff answers to interested 
questions about her home? Will his enthusiasm for 
his native land change her flippancy to interest in far- 
off romantic countries? How would the last detail im- 
press the change, if you decide to have one? Might he 
call her back and force her to take a gift? Might she 



296 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






deliver an impressive phrase, then dash away as though 
startled by her exhibition of sympathetic feeling? 

These are mere suggestions. Two pupils might 
present the scene as indicated by these questions. 
Two others might show it as broadly comic, and end 
by having the girl — at a safe distance — triumphantly 
show that she had stolen a second fruit. That might 
give him the cue to end in a tirade of almost inarticulate 
abuse, or he might stand in silence, expressing by his 
face the emotions surging over him. And his feeling 
need not be entirely anger, either. It might border on 
admiration for her amazing audacity, or pathetic help- 
lessness, or comic despair, or determination to " get 
even " next time. 

Before you attempt to present any of the following 
suggestive exercises you should consider every possi- 
bility carefully and decide definitely and consistently 
all the questions that may arise concerning every detail. 

EXERCISES 

1. Let a boy come into the room and try to induce a girl 
(the mistress of a house) to have a telephone installed. Make 
the dialogue realistic and interesting. 

2. Let a girl demonstrate a vacuum cleaner (or some other 
appliance) to another girl (mistress of a house) . 

3. Let a boy apply for a position to a man in an office. 

4. Let a boy dictate a letter to a gum-chewing, fidgety, 
harum-scarum stenographer. 

5. Let this stenographer tell the telephone girl about this. 

6. Show how a younger sister might talk at a baseball or 
football game to her slightly older brother who was coerced 
into bringing her with him. 



DRAMATICS 297 

7. Show a fastidious woman at a dress goods counter, and 
the tired, but courteous clerk. Do not caricature, but try 
to give an air of reality to this. 

8. Show how two young friends who have not seen each 
other for weeks might talk when they meet again. 

9. Deliver the thoughts of a pupil at eleven o'clock at 
night trying to choose the topic for an English composition 
due the next morning. Have him talk to his mother, or 
father, or older brother, or sister. 

10. A foreign woman speaking and understanding little 
English, with a ticket to Springfield, has by mistake boarded 
a through train which does not stop there. The conductor, 
a man, and woman try to explain to her what she must do. 

11. Let three different pairs of pupils represent the girl 
and the fruit seller cited in the paragraphs preceding these 
exercises. 

1-2. A young man takes a girl riding in a new automobile. 
Reproduce parts of the ride. 

13. Two graduates of your school meet after many years 
in a distant place. Reproduce their reminiscenses. 

14. A woman in a car or coach has lost or misplaced her 
transfer or ticket. Give the conversation between her and 
the conductor. 

15. Let various pairs of pupils reproduce the conversa- 
tions of patrons of moving pictures. 

16. Suggest other characters in appropriate situations. 
Present them before the class. 

Characters Conceived by Others. In all the pre- 
ceding exercises you have been quite unrestricted in 
your interpretation. You have been able to make up 
entirely the character you presented. Except for a few 
stated details of sex, age, occupation, nature, no sug- 
gestions were given of the person indicated. Delinea- 



298 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






tion is fairly easy to construct when you are given such 
a free choice of all possibilities. The next kind of 
exercise will involve a restriction to make the acting 
a little more like the acting of a role in a regular play. 
Even here, however, a great deal is left to the pupil's 
thought and decision. 

How much chance there may be for such individual 
thought and decision in a finished play written by a 
careful dramatist may be illustrated by Fame and the 
Poet by Lord Dunsany. One of the characters is a 
Lieutenant-Major who calls upon a poet in London. 
Nothing is said about his costume. In one city an 
actor asked the British consul. He said officers of the 
army do not wear their uniforms except when in active 
service, but on the British stage one great actor had 
by his example created the convention of wearing the 
uniform. In another city at exactly the same time the 
author himself was asked the same question. He said 
that by no means should the actor wear a uniform. 

In the next exercises you are to represent characters 
with whom you have become acquainted in books. 
You will therefore know something about their dis- 
positions, their appearance, and their actions. Your 
task will be to give life-like portraits which others will 
recognize as true to their opinions of these same people. 
For all who have read the books the general outlines 
will be identical. The added details must not contra- 
dict any of the traits depicted by the authors. Other- 
wise they may be as original as you can imagine. 

In the Odyssey, the great old Greek poem by Homer, 
the wandering hero, Odysseus (also called Ulysses), is 
cast up by the sea upon a strange shore. Here he 



DRAMATICS 299 

meets Nausicaa (pronounced Nau-si'-ca-a) who offers 
to show him the way to the palace of her father, the 
King. But as she is betrothed she fears that if she is 
seen in the company of an unknown man some scandal- 
ous gossip may be carried to her sweetheart. So she 
directs that when they near the town Odysseus shall 
tarry behind, allowing her to enter alone. In this naive 
incident this much is told in detail by the poet. We 
are not told whether any gossip does reach the lover's 
ears. He does not appear in the story. We are not 
told even his name. Nor are we told how either she 
or he behaved when they first met, after she had 
conducted the stranger to the palace. 

If you enact this scene of their meeting you will first 
have to find a name for him. You are free to create 
all the details of their behavior and conversation. Was 
he angry? Was he cool towards her? Had he heard 
a false account? 

Before attempting any of the following exercises 
decide all the matters of interpretation as already 
indicated in this chapter. 

EXERCISES 

1. Molly Farren tries to get news of Godfrey Cass from a 
Stable-boy. Silas Marner. 

2. The two Miss Gunns talk about Priscilla Lammeter. 
Silas Marner. 

3. The Wedding Guest meets one of his companions. 
The Ancient Mariner. 

4. Nausicaa tells her betrothed about Odysseus. Odyssey. 

5. Reynaldo in Paris tries to get information about 
Laertes. Hamlet. 



300 PUBLIC SPEAKING 



. 



6. Fred tells his wife about Scrooge and Crachit. 
Christmas Carol. 

7. Jupiter tells a friend of the finding of the treasure. 
The Gold Bug. 

8. Two women who know David Copperfield talk about 
his second marriage. David Copperfield. 

Memorized Conversations. You can approach still 
more closely to the material of a play if you offer in 
speech before your class certain suitable portions from 
books you are reading or have read. These selections 
may be made from the regular class texts or from sup- 
plementary reading assignments. In studying these 
passages with the intention of offering them before the 
class you will have to think about two things. First 
of all, the author has in all probability, somewhere in 
the book, given a fairly detailed, exact description of 
the looks and actions of these characters. If such a 
description does not occur in an extended passage, there 
is likely to be a series of statements scattered about, 
from which a reader builds up an idea of what the 
character is like. The pupil who intends to represent a 
person from a book or poem must study the author's 
picture to be able to reproduce a convincing portrait. 

The audience will pass over mere physical differences. 
A young girl described in a story as having blue eyes 
may be acted by a girl with brown, and be accepted. 
But if the author states that under every kind remark 
she made there lurked a slight hint of envy, that difficult 
suggestion to put into a tone must be striven for, or 
the audience will not receive an adequate impression of 
the girl's disposition. 

So, too, in male characters. A boy who plays old 



DRAMATICS 301 

Scrooge in A Christmas Carol may not be able to look 
like him physically, but in the early scenes he must 
let no touch of sympathy or kindness creep into his 
voice or manner. 

It is just this inability or carelessness in plays at- 
tempting to reproduce literary works upon the stage 
that annoys so many intelligent, well-read people who 
attend theatrical productions of material which they 
already know. When Vanity Fair was dramatised 
and acted as Becky Sharp, the general comment was 
that the characters did not seem like Thackeray's 
creations. This was even more apparent when Pen- 
dennis was staged. 

If you analyze and study characters in a book from this 
point of view you will find them becoming quite alive to 
your imagination. You will get to know them person- 
ally. As you vizualize them in your imagination they 
will move about as real people do. Thus your reading 
will take on a new aspect of reality which will fix forever 
in your mind all you glance over upon the printed page. 

Climax. The second thing to regard in choosing 
passages from books to present before the class is that 
the lines shall have some point. Conversation in a 
story is introduced for three different purposes. It 
illustrates character. It exposes some event of the plot. 
It merely entertains. Such conversation as this last 
is not good material for dramatic delivery. It is hardly 
more than space filling. The other two kinds are gen- 
erally excellent in providing the necessary point to 
which dramatic structure always rises. You have 
heard it called a climax. So then you should select 
from books passages which provide climaxes. 






302 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

One dictionary defines climax: " the highest point 
of intensity, development, etc.; the culmination; acme; 
as, he was then at the climax of his fortunes." In a 
play it is that turning-point towards which all events 
have been leading, and from which all following events 
spring. Many people believe that all climaxes are 
points of great excitement and noise. This is not so. 
Countless turning-points in stirring and terrible times 
have been in moments of silence and calm. Around 
them may have been intense suspense, grave fear, tre- 
mendous issues, but the turning-point itself may have 
been passed in deliberation and quiet. 



EXERCISES 

1. Choose from class reading — present or recent — 
some passage in conversation. Discuss the traits exhibited 
by the speakers. Formulate in a single statement the point 
made by the remarks. Does the interest rise enough to make 
the passage dramatic? 

2. Several members of the class should read certain 
passages from books, poems, etc. The class should consider 
and discuss the characterization, interest, point, climax. 

3. Read Chapters VI and VII of Silas Marner by George 
Eliot. Are the characters well marked? Is the conversation 
interesting in itself? Does the interest rise? Where does 
the rise begin? Is there any suspense? Does the scene 
conclude properly? If this were acted upon a stage would 
any additional lines be necessary or desirable? 

4. Read the last part of Chapter XI of Silas Marner. 
What is the point? 

5. Memorize this dialogue and deliver it before the class. 
Did the point impress the class? 



DRAMATICS 



303 



6. Consider, discuss, and test passages from any book 
which the members of the class know. 

7. Present before the class passages from any of the 
following: 

Dickens A Christmas Carol 

A Tale of Two Cities 
David Copperfield 

George Eliot Silas Marner 

The Mill on the Floss 



Scott 


Ivanhoe 




Kenilworth 




The Lady of the Lake 


Mark Twain 


Huckleberry Finn 




The Prince and the Pauper 


0. Henry 


Short Stories 


Thackeray 


Vanity Fair 




Henry Esmond 




Pendennis 


Kipling 


Captains Courageous 




Stalkey and Co. 


Hugo 


Les Miserables 


Tennyson 


Idylls of the King 




The Princess 


Arnold 


Sohrab and Rustum 


Stevenson 


Treasure Island 


Gaskell 


Cranford 


Carroll 


Alice in Wonderland 


Kingsley 


Westward Ho! 


Barrie 


Sentimental Tommy 


Characters in Plays. In acting regular plays you 


may find it necessary 


to follow either of the preceding 


methods of characterization. The conception of a 


character may have to be supplied almost entirely by 


some one outside the play. Or the dramatist may be 



304 PUBLIC SPEAKING 



the 



very careful to set down clearly and accurately 
traits, disposition, actions of the people in his plays 
In this second case the performer must try to carry out 
every direction, every hint of the dramatist. In the 
first case, he must search the lines of the play to glean 
every slightest suggestion which will help him to carry 
out the dramatist's intention. Famous actors of 
characters in Shakespeare's plays can give a reason for 
everything they show — at least, they should be able 
to do so — and this foundation should be a compilation 
of all the details supplied by the play itself, and stage 
tradition of its productions. 

In early plays there are practically no descriptions of 
the characters. Questions about certain Shakespeare 
characters will never be solved to the satisfaction of all 
performers. For instance, how old is Hamlet in the 
tragedy? How close to madness did the dramatist 
expect actors to portray his actions? During Ham- 
let's fencing match with Laertes in the last scene the 
Queen says, " He's fat, and scant of breath." Was 
she describing his size, or meaning that he was out of 
fencing trim? 

Shakespeare puts into the mouth of Julius Caesar a 
detailed description of the appearance and manner of 
acting of one of the chief characters of the tragedy. 

Let me have men about me that are fat; 
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights: 
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; 
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. 
******** 

Would he were fatter! But I fear him not: 
Yet if my name were liable to fear, 



DRAMATICS 305 

I do not know the man I should avoid 

So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much; 

He is a great observer, and he looks 

Quite through the deeds of men; he loves no plays, 

As thou dost, Antony; he hears no music; 

Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort 

As if he mock'd himself and scorn'd his spirit 

That could be mov'd to smile at any thing. 

In As You Like It when the two girls are planning to 
flee to the forest of Arden, Rosalind tells how she will 
disguise herself and act as a man. This indicates to 
the actress both costume and behavior for the remainder 
of the comedy. 

Were it not better, 
Because that I am more than common tall, 
That I did suit me all points like a man? 
A gallant curtle-axe upon my thigh, 
A boar-spear in my hand; and — in my heart 
Lie there what hidden woman's fear there will — 
We'll have a swashing and a martial outside, 
As many other mannish cowards have 
That do outface it with their semblances. 

In many cases Shakespeare clearly shows the per- 
former exactly how to carry out his ideas of the nature 
of a man during part of the action. One of the plainest 
instances of this kind of instruction is in Macbeth. The 
ambitious thane's wife is urging him on to murder his 
king. Her advice gives the directions for the following 
scenes. 

O never 
Shall sun that morrow see! 
Your face, my thane, is as a book where men 
May read strange matters. To beguile the time, 
Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, 



306 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower, 
But be the serpent under't. He that's coming 
Must be provided for: and you shall put 
This night's great business into my dispatch; 
Which shall to all our nights and days to come 
Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom. 






Modern dramatists are likely to be much more careful 
in giving advice about characterization. They insert 
a large number of stage directions covering this matter. 
Speed of delivery, tone and inflection, as well as under- 
lying feeling and emotion are minutely indicated. 

Duchess of Berwick 
Mr. Hopper, I am very angry with you. You have taken 
Agatha out on the terrace, and she is so delicate. 

Hopper 
[At left of center] Awfully sorry, Duchess. We went out for a 
moment and then got chatting together. 

Duchess 
[At center'] Ah, about dear Australia, I suppose? 

Hopper 
Yes. 

Duchess 
Agatha, darling! [Beckons her over."] 

Agatha 
Yes, mamma! 

Duchess 
[Aside] Did Mr. Hopper definitely — 

Agatha 
Yes, mamma. 

Duchess 
And what answer did you give him, dear child? 



DRAMATICS 307 

Agatha 
Ifes, mamma. 

Duchess 
[Affectionately'] My dear one! You always say the right 
thing. Mr. Hopper! James! Agatha has told me everything. 
How cleverly you have both kept your secret. 

Hopper 
You don't mind my taking Agatha off to Australia, then, 
Duchess? 

Duchess 
[Indignantly"} To Australia? Oh, don't mention that dread- 
ful vulgar place. 

Hopper 
But she said she'd like to come with me. 

Duchess 
[Severely} Did you say that, Agatha? 

Agatha 
Yes, mamma. 

Duchess 
Agatha, you say the most silly things possible. 

Descriptions of Characters. In addition to definite 
directions at special times during the course of the 
dialogue, modern writers of plays describe each char- 
acter quite fully at his first entrance into the action. 
This gives the delineator of each role a working basis 
for his guidance. Such directions carefully followed 
out assure the tone for the whole cast. They keep a 
subordinate part always in the proper relation to all 
others. They make certain the impression of the 
whole story as a consistent artistic development. They 
prevent misunderstandings about the author's aim. 
They provide that every character shall appear to be 



308 PUBLIC SPEAKING 



the 



swayed by natural motives. They remove from 
performance all suggestions of unregulated caprice. 

Dramatists vary in the exactness and minuteness 
of such descriptive character sketches, but even the 
shortest and most general is necessary to the proper 
appreciation of every play, even if it is being merely 
read. When a student is assimilating a role for 
rehearsing or acting, these additions of the author are 
as important as the lines themselves. 

EXERCISES 

Analyze the following. Discuss the suitability of various 
members of the class for each part. Which details do you 
think least essential? 

1. He is a tall, thin, gaunt, withered, domineering man of 
sixty. When excited or angry he drops into dialect, but 
otherwise his speech, though flat, is fairly accurate. He sits 
in an arm-chair by the empty hearth working calculations 
in a small shiny black notebook, which he carries about with 
him everywhere, in a side pocket. 

2. When the curtain rises a man is seen climbing over the 
balcony. His hair is close cut; his shirt dirty and blood- 
stained. He is followed by another man dressed like a sailor 
with a blue cape, the hood drawn over his head. Moonlight. 

3. Enter Dinah Kippen quickly, a dingy and defiant young 
woman carrying a tablecloth. She is a nervous creature, 
driven half-mad by the burden of her cares. Conceiving life, 
necessarily, as a path to be traversed at high speed, whenever 
she sees an obstacle in her way, whether in the physical or 
in the moral sphere, she rushes at it furiously to remove it 
or destroy it. 

4. Mrs. Rhead, a woman of nearly sixty, is sitting on the 
sofa, crocheting some lace, which is evidently destined to 



DRAMATICS 309 

trim petticoats. Her hair is dressed in the style of 1840, 
though her dress is of the 1860 period. 

5. The song draws nearer and Patricia Carleon enters. 
She is dark and slight, and has a dreamy expression. Though 
she is artistically dressed, her hair is a little wild. She has a 
broken branch of some flowering tree in her hand. 

. 6. Enter a Neat-herd, followed by King Alfred, who is 
miserably clad and shivering from cold; he carries a bow and a 
few broken arrows. A log fire is burning smokily in a corner 
of the hut. 

7. Enter from the right Ito, the cynic philosopher, book 
in hand. 

8. The rising of the curtain discovers the two Miss 
Wetherills — two sweet old ladies who have grown so much 
alike it would be difficult for a stranger to tell the one from 
the other. The hair of both is white, they are dressed much 
alike, both in some soft lavender colored material, mixed with 
soft lace. 

9. Newte is a cheerful person, attractively dressed in 
clothes suggestive of a successful follower of horse races. He 
carries a white pot hat and tasselled cane. His gloves are 
large and bright. He is smoking an enormous cigar. 

10. She is young, slender, graceful; her yellow hair is in 
disorder, her face the color of ruddy gold, her teeth white 
as the bones of the cuttle-fish, her eyes humid and sea-green, 
her neck long and thin, with a necklace of shells about it; 
in her whole person something inexpressibly fresh and 
glancing, which makes one think of a creature impregnated 
with sea-salt dipped in the moving waters, coming out of 
the hiding-places of the rocks. Her petticoat of striped 
white and blue, torn and discolored, falls only just below the 
knees, leaving her legs bare; her bluish apron drips and 
smells of the brine like a filter; and her bare feet in contrast 
with the brown color that the sun has given her flesh, are 
singularly pallid, like the roots of aquatic plants. And her 



310 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






voice is limpid and childish; and some of the words that she 
speaks seem to light up her ingenuous face with a mysterious 
happiness. 

Studying Plays. In nearly every grade of school and 
college, plays are either read or studied. The usual 
method of study is to read the lines of the play in rota- 
tion about the class, stopping at times for explanations, 
definitions, impressions, general discussions. Such 
minute analysis may extend to the preparation of out- 
lines and diagrams. The methods used to get pupils 
to know plays are almost as varied as teachers. After 
such analytical study has been pursued it is always a 
stimulating exercise to get another impression of the 
play — not as mere poetry or literature, but as acted 
drama. 

This may be accomplished in a short time by very 
simple means. Pupils should memorize certain por- 
tions and then recite them before the class. Neither 
costumes nor scenery will be required. All the mem- 
bers of the class have in their minds the appearances of 
the surroundings and the persons. What they need 
is to hear the speeches the dramatist put into the hearts 
and mouths of his characters. 

The best presentation would be the delivery of the 
entire play running through some four or five class 
periods. If so much time cannot be allotted to this, 
only certain scenes need be delivered. The teacher 
might assign the most significant ones to groups of 
pupils, allowing each group to arrange for rehearsals 
before appearing before the class. In some classes the 
pupils may be trusted to arrange the entire distribution 
of scenes and roles. When their preliminary planning 



DRAMATICS 311 

has been finished, they should hand to the teacher a 
schedule of scenes and participants. 

Whenever a play is read or studied, pupils will be 
attracted more by some passages than by others. A 
teacher may dispense with all assignments. The pupils 
could be directed merely to arrange their own groups, 
choose the scenes they want to offer, and to prepare as 
they decide. In such a voluntary association some 
members of the class might be uninvited to speak with 
any group. These then might find their material in 
prologue, epilogue, chorus, soliloquy, or inserted songs. 
Nearly every play contains long passages requiring for 
their effect no second speaker. Shakespeare's plays 
contain much such material. All the songs from a play 
would constitute a delightful offering. Nothing in all 
the acted portion of Henry V is any better than the 
stirring speeches of the Chorus. Hamlet has three 
great soliloquies for boys. Macbeth contains the sleep- 
walking scene for girls. Milton's Comus is made up of 
beautiful poetic passages. Every drama studied or read 
for school contains enough for every member of a class. 

Some pupils may object that unless an exact pre- 
liminary assignment is made, two or more groups may 
choose the same scene. Such a probable happening, 
far from being a disadvantage to be avoided, is a decided 
advantage worthy of being purposely attempted. Could 
anything be more stimulating than to see and hear two 
different casts interpret a dramatic situation? Each 
would try to do better than the other. Each would be 
different in places. From a comparison the audience 
and performers would have all the more light thrown 
upon what they considered quite familiar. 



312 PUBLIC SPEAKING 






It would be a mistake to have five quartettes repeat 
the same scene over and over again. Yet if twenty 
pupils had unconsciously so chosen, three presentations 
might be offered for discriminating observation. Then 
some other portion could be inserted and later the first 
scene could be gone through twice. 

Assigning Roles. . Teacher and pupils should en- 
deavor to secure variety of interest in roles. At first, 
assignments are likely to be determined by apparent 
fitness. The quiet boy is not required to play the part 
of the braggart. The retiring girl is not expected to 
impersonate the shrew. In one or two appearances it 
may be a good thing to keep in mind natural aptitude. 

Then there should be a departure from this system. 
Educational development comes not only from doing 
what you are best able to do, but from developing the 
less-marked phases of your disposition and character. 
The opposite practice should be followed, at least once. 
Let the prominent class member assume a role of sub- 
dued personality. Let the timid take the lead. Induce 
the silent to deliver the majority of the speeches. You 
will be amazed frequently to behold the best delinea- 
tions springing from such assignments. 

Such rehearsing of a play already studied should 
terminate the minute analysis in order to show the 
material for what it is — actable drama. It will vivify 
the play again, and make the characters live in your mem- 
ory as mere reading never will. You will see the mov- 
ing people, the grouped situations, the developed story, 
the impressive climax, and the satisfying conclusion. 

In dealing with scenes from a long play — whether 
linked or disconnected — pupils will always have a 



DRAMATICS 313 

feeling of incompleteness. In a full-length play no 
situation is complete in itself. It is part of a longer 
series of events. It may finish one part of the action, 
but it usually merely carries forward the plot, passing 
on the complication to subsequent situations. 

Short Plays. To deal with finished products 
should be the next endeavor. There are thousands 
of short plays suitable for class presentation in an in- 
formal manner. Most of them do not require intensive 
study, as does a great Greek or English drama, so their 
preparation may go on entirely outside the classroom. 
It should be frankly admitted that the exercises 
of delivering lines " in character " as here described is 
not acting or producing the play. That will come later. 
These preliminary exercises — many or few, pains- 
taking or sketchy — are processes of training pupils 
to speak clearly, interestingly, forcefully, in the im- 
agined character of some other person. The pupil 
must not wrongly believe that he is acting. 

Though the delivery of a complete short play may 
seem like a performance, both participants and audi- 
ence must not think of it so. It is class exercise, sub- 
ject to criticism, comment, improvement, exactly as 
all other class recitations are. 

Since the entire class has not had the chance to 
become familiar with all the short plays to be presented, 
some one should give an introductory account of the 
time and place of action. There might be added any 
necessary comments upon the characters. The cast 
of characters should be written upon the board. 

This exercise should be exactly like the preceding, 
except that it adds the elements of developing the plot 



314 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

of the play, creating suspense, impressing the climax, 
and satisfactorily rounding off the play. In order to 
accomplish these important effects the participants 
will soon discover that they must agree upon certain 
details to be made most significant. This will lead 
to discussions about how to make these points stand 
out. In the concerted attempt to give proper emphasis 
to some line late in the play it will be found necessary 
to suppress a possible emphasis of some line early in 
the action. To reinforce a trait of some person, 
another character may have to be made more self- 
assertive. 

To secure this unified effect which every play should 
make the persons involved will have to consider care- 
fully every detail in lines and stage directions, fully 
agree upon what impression they must strive for, then 
heartily cooperate in attaining it. They must forget 
themselves to remember always that " the play's the 
thing." 

The following list will suggest short plays suitable for 
informal classroom training in dramatics. Most of 
these are also general enough in their appeal to serve 
for regular production upon a stage before a miscel- 
laneous audience. 

Aldrich, T. B. Pauline Pavlovna 

Baring, M. Diminutive Dramas 

Butler, E. P. The Revolt 

Cannan, G. Everybody's Husband 

Dunsany, Lord Tents of the Arabs 

The Lost Silk Hat 
Fame and the Poet 
Fenn and Pryce. 9 Op-o~Me- Thumb 



DRAMATICS 



315 



Gale, Z. 
Gerstenberg, A. 
Gibson, W. W. 
Gregory, Lady. 



Houghton, S. 
Jones, H. A. 
Kreymborg, A. 
Moeller, P. 
Quintero, J. and S. A. 
Rice, C. 
Stevens, T. W. 
Sudermann, H. 
Tchekoff, A. 
Torrence, R. 
Walker, S. 
Yeats, W. B. 
Producing Plays. 



Neighbors 
Overtones 

Plays in Collected Works 
Spreading the News 
The Workhouse Ward 
Coats, etc. 
The Dear Departed 
Her Tongue 

Mannikin and Minnikin 
Pokey 

A Sunny Morning 
The Immortal Lure 
Ryland 

The Far- Away Princess 
A Marriage Proposal 
The Rider of Dreams 
Never-the-Less 



Cathleen Ni Houlihan 
Any class or organization which 
has followed the various forms of dramatics outlined 
thus far in this chapter will find it an easy matter to 
succeed in the production of a play before an audience. 
The Play. The first thing to decide upon is the play 
itself. This choice should be made as far in advance 
of performance as is possible. Most of the work of 
producing a play is in adequate preparation. Up to 
this time audiences have been members of the class, 
or small groups with kindly dispositions and forbearing 
sympathies. A general audience is more critical. It 
will be led to like or dislike according to the degree its 
interest is aroused and held. It will be friendly, but 
more exacting. The suitability of the play for the 



316 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

audience must be regarded. A comedy by Shakes- 
peare which delights and impresses both performers 
and audience is much more stimulating and educating 
than a Greek tragedy which bores them. 

The Stage. The second determining factor is the 
stage. What is its size? What is its equipment? 
Some plays require large stages; others fit smaller ones 
better. A large stage may be made small, but it is 
impossible to stretch a small one. 

Equipment for a school stage need not be elaborate. 
Artistic ingenuity will do more than reckless expendi- 
ture. The simplest devices can be made to produce 
the best effects. The lighting system should admit of 
easy modification. For example, it should be possible 
to place lights in various positions for different effects. 
It should be possible to get much illumination or little. 

Scenery. No scenery should be built when the stage 
is first erected. If a regular scene painter furnishes 
the conventional exterior, interior, and woodland 
scenery, the stage equipment is almost ruined for all 
time. It is ridiculous that a lecturer, a musician, a 
school principal, and a student speaker, should appear 
before audiences in the same scenery representing a 
park or an elaborate drawing-room. The first furnish- 
ings for a stage should be a set of beautiful draped cur- 
tains. These can be used, not only for such undramatic 
purposes as those just listed, but for a great many 
plays as well. 

No scenery should be provided until the first play is 
to be presented. Certain plays can be adequately 
acted before screens arranged differently and colored 
differently for changes. When scenery must be built 



DRAMATICS 317 

it should be strongly built as professional scenery is. 
It should also be planned for future possible manipula- 
tion. Every director of school dramatics knows the 
delight of utilizing the same material over and over 
again. Here is one instance. An interior set, neutral 
in tones and with no marked characteristics of style 
and period, was built to serve in Acts I and V of A 
Midsummer Night's Dream, Hangings, furniture, 
costumes gave it the proper appearance. Later it was 
used in Ulysses. It has also housed Moliere's Doctor 
in Spite of Himself (Le Medecin Malgre Lui) and The 
Wealthy Upstart {Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme) , Carrion 
and Aza's Zaragileta, Sudermann's The Far-Away 
Princess, Houghton's The Dear Departed. The wooden 
frames on the rear side were painted black, the canvas 
panels tan, to serve in Twelfth Night for the drinking 
scene, Act II, scene 3. With Greek shields upon the 
walls it later pictured the first scene of The Comedy 
of Errors. With colorful border designs attached and 
oriental furniture it set a Chinese play. 

A definite series of dimensions should be decided 
upon, and all scenery should be built in relation to 
units of these sizes. As a result of this, combinations 
otherwise impossible can be made. Beginners should 
avoid putting anything permanent upon a stage. The 
best stage is merely space upon which beautiful pictures 
may be produced. Beware of adopting much lauded 
" new features " such as cycloramas, horizonts, until 
you are assured you need them and can actually use 
them. In most cases it is wise to consult some one 
with experience. 

In considering plays for presentation you will have 



318 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

to think of whether your performers and your stage 
will permit of convincing production. Remembering 
that suggestion is often better than realism, and know- 
ing that beautiful curtains and colored screens are 
more delightful to gaze upon than cheap-looking canvas 
and paint, and knowing that action and costume 
produce telling effects, decide what the stage would 
have to do for the following scenes. 

EXERCISES 

1. Read scene 2 of Comus by Milton. Should the entire 
masque be acted out-of-doors? If presented on an indoors 
stage what should the setting be? Inside the palace of 
Comus? How then do the Brothers get in? How do 
Sabrina and her Nymphs arise? From a pool, a fountain? 
Might the stage show an exterior? Would the palace be 
on one side? The edge of the woods on the other? Would 
the banks of the river be at the rear? Would such an ar- 
rangement make entrances, exits, acting, effective? Explain 
all your opinions. 

Read one of the following. Devise a stage setting for 
it. Describe it fully. If you can, make a sketch in black 
and white or in color, showing it as it would appear to the 
audience. Or make a working plan, showing every detail. 
Or construct a small model of the set, making the parts so 
that they will stand. Or place them in a box to reproduce 
the stage. Use one-half inch to the foot. 

2. A Midsummer Night's Dream, scene 1. Interior? Ex- 
terior? Color? Lighting? 

3. Hamlet, Act I, scene 5. Castle battlements? A grave- 
yard? Open space in country some distance from castle? 

4. Comus, scene 3. 

5. The Tempest, Act I, scene 1. 



DRAMATICS 319 

6. Twelfth Night, Act II, scene 3. 

7. Romeo and Juliet, Act I, scene 1. 

8. Julius Caesar, Act III, scene 2. 

9. In a long, high- vaulted room, looking out upon a Roman 
garden where the cypresses rise in narrowing shafts from 
thickets of oleander and myrtle, is seated a company of men 
and women, feasting. 

William Shaep: The Lute-Player 

10. A room, half drawing-room, half study, in Lewis 
Davenant's house in Rockminister. Furniture eighteenth 
century, pictures, china in glass cases. An April afternoon 
in 1860. 

George Moore: Elizabeth Cooper 

11. An Island off the West of Ireland. Cottage kitchen, 
with nets, oil-skins, spinning wheel, some new boards stand- 
ing by the wall, etc. 

J. M. Synge: Riders to the Sea 

12. Loud music. After which the Scene is discovered, 
being a Laboratory or Alchemist's work-house. Vulcan look- 
ing at the registers, while a Cyclope, tending the fire, to the 
cornets began to sing. 

Ben Jonson: Mercury Vindicated 

13. Rather an awesome picture it is with the cold blue 
river and the great black cliffs and the blacker cypresses that 
grow along its banks. There are signs of a trodden slope 
and a ferry, and there's a rough old wooden shelter where 
passengers can wait; a bell hung on the top with which they 
call the ferryman. 

Calthrop and Barker: The Harlequinade 

Long before any play is produced there should be 
made a sketch or plan showing the stage settings. If 
it is in color it will suggest the appearance of the actual 
stage. One important point is to be noted. Your 



320 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

sketch or model is merely a miniature of the real thing. 
If you have a splotch of glaring color only an inch 
long it will appear in the full-size setting about two 
feet long. A seemingly flat surface three by five inches 
in the design will come out six by ten feet behind the 
footlights. 

Casting the Play. When the play is selected, the 
roles must be cast. To select the performers, one of 
many different methods may be followed. The in- 
structor of the class or the director of the production 
may assign parts to individuals. When this person 
knows the requirements of the roles and the abilities of 
the members, this method always saves time and 
effort. By placing all the responsibility upon one 
person it emphasizes care in choosing to secure best 
results. At times a committee may do the casting. 
Such a method prevents personal prejudice and im- 
mature judgments from operating. It splits respon- 
sibility and requires more time than the first method. 
It is an excellent method for seconding the opinions 
of a director who does not know very well the ap- 
plicants for parts. The third method is by " try- 
outs." In this the applicants show their ability. This 
may be done by speaking or reciting before an audience, 
a committee, or the director. It may consist of acting 
some role. It may be the delivery of lines from the 
play to be acted. It may be in a " cast reading " in 
which persons stand about the stage or room and read 
the lines of characters in the play. If there are three 
or four applicants for one part, each is given a chance 
to act some scene. In this manner all the roles are 
filled. 



DRAMATICS 321 

There are two drawbacks to this scheme which is 
the fairest which can be devised. It consumes a 
great deal of time. Some member of the class or organi- 
zation best fitted to play a role may not feel disposed 
to try for it. Manifestly he should be the one selected. 
But it appears unfair to disregard the three boys who 
have made the effort while he has done nothing. Yet 
every role should be acted in the very best manner. 
For the play's sake, the best actor should be assigned 
the part. A pupil may try for a part for which he is 
not at all suited, while he could fill another role 
better than any one who strives to get it. 

In a class which has been trained in public speaking 
or dramatics as this book suggests, it should be no 
difficult task to cast any play, whether full-length or 
one act. Performers must always be chosen because 
of the possible development of their latent abilities 
rather than for assured attainments. 

These qualities must be sought for in performers of 
roles — obedience, dependableness, mobility, patience, 
endurance. 

Rehearsing. A worthy play which is well cast is 
an assured success before its first rehearsal. 

The entire group should first study the whole play 
under the director's comment. It is best to have each 
actor read his own part. The behavior of a minor 
character in the second act may depend upon a speech 
in the first. The person playing that role must seize 
upon that hint for his own interpretation. 

It might be a good thing to have every person " letter 
perfect," that is, know all his speeches, at the first 
rehearsal. Practically, this never occurs. Reading 



322 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

from the book or the manuscript, a performer " walks 
through " his part, getting at the same time an idea of 
where he is to stand, how to move, how to speak, what 
to do, where to enter, when to cross the stage. All 
such directions he should jot down upon his part. Then 
memorizing the lines will fix these stage directions in 
his mind. He will be assimilating at the same time 
lines and " business." " Business " on the stage is 
everything done by a character except speaking lines. 

At all rehearsals the director is in absolute charge. 
His word is final law. This does not mean that mem- 
bers of the cast may not discuss things with him, and 
suggest details and additions. They must be careful 
to choose a proper time to do such things. They 
should never argue, but follow directions. Time out- 
side rehearsals may be devoted to clearing up points. 
Of course an actor should never lose his temper. 
Neither should the director. Both of these bits of 
advice are frequently almost beyond observation of 
living human beings. Yet they are the rules. 

Rehearsals should be frequent rather than long. 
Acts should be rehearsed separately. Frequently only 
separate portions should be repeated. Combinations 
should be made so as not to keep during long waits 
characters with only a few words. Early portions will 
have to be repeated more frequently than later ones 
to allow the actors to get into their characterizations. 
Tense, romantic, sentimental, comic scenes may have 
to be rehearsed privately until they are quite good 
enough to interest other members of the cast. 

The time for preparation will depend upon general 
ability of the cast, previous training, the kind of play, 



DRAMATICS 323 

the amount of leisure for study and rehearsing. In 
most schools a full-length play may be crowded into 
four weeks. Six or seven weeks are a better allowance. 

During first rehearsals changes and corrections 
should be made when needed. Interruptions should 
be frequent. Later there should be no interruptions. 
Comments should be made at the end of a scene and em- 
bodied in an immediate repetition to fix the change in the 
actors' minds. Other modifications should be announced 
before rehearsal, and embodied in the acting that day. 

The acting should be ready for an audience a week 
before the date set for the performance. During the 
last rehearsals, early acts should be recalled and re- 
peated in connection with later ones, so that time and 
endurance may be counted and estimated. During 
these days rehearsals must go forward without any at- 
tention from the director. He must be giving all his 
attention to setting, lighting, costumes, properties, 
furniture, and the thousand and one other details 
which make play producing the discouraging yet 
fascinating occupation it is. Such repetition without 
constant direction will develop a sense of independence 
and cooperation in the actors and assistants which will 
show in the enthusiasm and ease of the performance. 
Stage hands and all other assistants must be trained 
to the same degree of reliability as the hero and heroine. 
Nothing can be left to chance. Nothing can be un- 
provided until the last minute. The dress rehearsal 
must be exactly like a performance, except that the 
audience is not present, or if present, is a different one. 
In schools, an audience at the dress rehearsal is usually 
a help to the amateur performers. 



324 PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Results. A performance based on such principles 
and training as here suggested should be successful from 
every point of view. 

The benefits to the participants are many. They 
include strengthening of the power to memorize, widen- 
ing of the imagination through interpretation of char- 
acter, familiarity with a work of art, training in poise, 
utilization of speaking ability, awakening of self-con- 
fidence, and participation in a worthy cooperative 
effort. 

In a broader sense such interest in good, acted plays 
is an intellectual stimulus. As better plays are more 
and more effectively presented the quality of play 
production in schools will be improved, and both 
pupils and communities will know more and more of 
the world's great dramatic literature. 



APPENDICES 



APPENDIX A 

Additional Exercises in Exposition 

1. The value of public speaking. 

2. How Lincoln became a great speaker. 

3. Studies in a good school course. 

4. Purposes of studying geometry. 

5. Explain the reasons for studying some subject. 

6. An ideal school. 

7. Foreign language study. 

8. Forming habits. 

9. Sailing against the wind. 

10. How to play some game. Give merely the rules or 
imagine the game being played. 

11. Difference between football in America and in Eng- 
land. 

12. Exercise or athletics? 

13. Results of military training. 
NL4. The gambling instinct. 

15. Parliamentary practice. 

16. How to increase one's vocabulary. 

17. Is the story of The Vicar of Wakefield too good to be 
true? 

18. The defects of some book. 

19. Reading fiction. 

20. Magazines in America. 

21 . Explain fully what a novel is, or a farce, or an allegory, 
or a satire. 

22. Why slang is sometimes justifiable. 

23. A modern newspaper. 

327 



328 APPENDIX A 

24. Select two foreign magazines. Compare and con- 
trast them. 

25. Essential features of a good short story. 

26. Why evening papers offer so many editions. 

27. How to find a book in a public library. 

28. The difference between public speaking and oratory. 

29. Public speaking for the lawyer, the clergyman, the 
business man. 

30. Qualities of a book worth reading. 

31. Some queer uses of English. 

32. History in the plays of Shakespeare. 

33. How to read a play. 

34. Mistakes in books or plays. 

35. Defects of translations. 

36. " One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." 

37. " An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." 

38. " You never miss the water till the well runs dry." 

39. " Penny wise, pound foolish." 

40. Select any proverb, Explain it. 

41. Choose a short quotation from some poem. Explain it. 

42. Explain some technical operation. 

43. Explain some mechanical process. 

44. A range factory. 

45. Making electric bulbs. 

46. How moving pictures are made and reproduced. 

47. Explain some simple machine. 

48. A new application of electricity. 

49. Weather forecasting. 

50. Scientific or practical value of polar expeditions. 

51. Changes of the tide. 

52. An eclipse. 

53. The principle of some such appliance as the ther- 
mometer, the barometer, the microscope, the air-brake, 
the block signal. 

54. Developing a negative. 



APPENDIX A 329 

55. How the player piano is operated. 

56. How the cash register prevents dishonesty. 

57. How a new fruit is produced — as seedless orange. 

58. Mimeographing. 

59. The value of Latin for scientific terms. 

60. The value of certain birds, worms, insects. 

61. The life history of some queer animal, or insect, or 
plant. 

62. How accuracy is secured. 

63. The human eye and the camera. 

64. The fireless cooker. 

65. Choose some half dozen terms from any trade or 
business and explain them. To sell short, margin, bull, 
bear, lamb. Proscenium, apron, flies, baby spot, strike. 
Fold in eggs, bring to a boil, simmer, percolate, to French. 
File, post, carry forward, remit, credit, receivership. Baste, 
hem, rip, overcast, box pleat, batik, Valenciennes. 

66. Building a musical program. 

67. Commercial art. 

68. Catch phrases in advertising. 

69. Principles of successful advertising. 

70. The Linotype machine. 

71. How I made my first appearance as a public speaker. 

72. Real conversation. 

73. Mere talk. 

74. The business woman. 

75. A slump in a certain business or industry. 
f 76. The Red Cross in war. 

[_77. The Red Cross in peace. 

78. Compare the principles of two political parties. 

79. A fire alarm. 

80. Why automobiles are licensed. 

81. The powers and duties of some city or county official. 

82. The advantages that this locality offers for certain 
industries or kinds of agriculture. 



330 APPENDIX A 

83. Society fads. 

84. The ideal office holder. 

85. New systems of government. 

86. Various forms of socialism. 

87. Collecting a debt by law. 

88. Explain some legal procedure as suggested by some 
term, as mandamus, injunction, demurrer, habeas corpus, 
nolle prosequi. 

89. Explain the composition and work of the Grand 
Jury. 

90. The efficiency expert. 

91. A new profession. 

92. The advantages of a trolley car with both entrance 
and exit at the front end. 

93. Labor-saving devices. 

94. A supercargo. 

95. Scientific shop management. 

96. Hiring and discharging employees. 

97. Applying for a business position. 

98. Causes of some recent labor strike. 

99. A labor union operates as a trust. 

100. Efficiency in the kitchen. 

101. Speeding up the work. 

102. Planning a factory. 

103. Making cheap automobiles. 

104. Uses of paper. 

105. New methods of furnishing houses. 

106. Making the home beautiful. 

107. New building materials. 

108. Designing and building a boat. 

109. The lay-out of a shipyard. 

110. Rules for planting. 

111. City government. 

112. Better methods of city government. 

113. How a trial is conducted. , 



APPENDIX A 331 

114. The juvenile court. 

115. Post office savings banks. 

116. Geographic advantages of this locality. 

117. Results of irrigation. 

118. How the farmer controls world prices. 

119. Relation between some distant event and the price 
of some article in the corner store. 

120. New businesses in America with their reasons for 
existence. 

121. The latest improvement in this locality. 

122. Why certain cities are destined to increase in popu- 
lation. 

123. Model homes. 

124. Housing the inhabitants of large cities. 

125. The operation of a subway. 

126. Automobile trucks instead of freight trains. 

127. How Lincoln became President. 

128. Why Webster did not become President. 

129. The dead-letter office. 

130. The Constitution of the United States and the Con- 
stitution of Great Britain. 

131. How the United States secured Porto Rico. 

132. A free trade policy. 

133. Commercial reciprocity. 

134. The protective tariff. 

135. Explain the application of some tax, as income, 
single, inheritance. 

136. How the constitutionality of a law is determined. 

137. How laws are made by Congress. 

138. The Congressional Record. 

139. The Monroe Doctrine. 

140. The attitude of foreign nations toward the Monroe 
Doctrine. 

141. Differences between the Chinese and the Japanese. 

142. The failure of the Hague Tribunal. 



332 APPENDIX A 

143. The part of the United States in a league of nations. 

144. Reasons for the conditions in Mexico. 

145. Our country's duty toward Mexico. 

146. The so-called Yellow Peril. 

147. Trans-oceanic air travel. 

148. Evolution of the airship. 

149. The geodetic survey. 
^ 150. The census bureau. 



APPENDIX B 

Additional Exercises in Argumentation 

1. Find in a magazine or newspaper some article in which 
conviction is the prime factor. 

2. Find in a magazine or newspaper some article in 
which persuasion is most used. 

3. Give examples from recent observation of discussions 
which were not argument as the term is used in this book. 

4. Explain how arguments upon a topic of current in- 
terest would differ in material and treatment for three kinds 
of audiences. 

5. The education of the American negro should be in- 
dustrial not cultural. 

6. To the Cabinet of the United States there should be 
added a Secretary of Education with powers to control all 
public education. 

7. Separate high schools for boys and girls should be 
maintained. 

8. It is better to attend a small college than a large one. 

9. Women should be eligible to serve as members of the 
school board. 

10. Pupils should be marked by a numerical average 
rather than by a group letter. 

11. At least two years of Latin should be required for 
entrance to college. 

12. The honor system should be introduced in all exam- 
inations in high schools and colleges. 

13. The study of algebra should be compulsory in high 
school. 

333 



334 APPENDIX B 

14. Courses in current topics, based upon material in 
newspapers, should be offered in all high schools. 

15. Every high school should require the study of local 
civics or local industries. 

16. Regular gymnastic work is more beneficial than par- 
ticipation in organized athletics. 

17. Girls should study domestic science. 

18. The kindergarten should be removed from our 
educational system. 

19. Coeducation in schools and colleges is better than 
segregation. 

20. Secret societies should be prohibited in high schools. 

21. A magazine or newspaper which copies material 
from one in which it first appears should be required by law 
to compensate the author. 

22. Moving picture exhibitions should be more strictly 
regulated. 

23. An exposition produces decided advantages for the 
city in which it is held. 

24. A county fair is a decided benefit to a rural community. 

25. All young men in this country should receive military 
training for a period of one year. 

26. This city should provide employment for the unem- 
ployed. 

27. Motor delivery trucks should be substituted for horse- 
drawn wagons. 

28. Labor unions are justified in insisting upon the re- 
employment of members discharged for a cause which they 
deem unjust. 

29. Farmers should study scientific agriculture. 

30. Capital and labor should be required by law to settle 
their disputes by appeals to a legally constituted court of 
arbitration whose decisions should be enforced. 

31. In time of peace no member of a labor union should 
be a member of a regularly organized military force. 



APPENDIX B 335 

32. Overtime work should be paid for at the same rate 
as regular work. 

33. All wo»k should be paid for according to the amount 
done rather than by time. 

34. Employers are justified in insisting upon the " open 
shop." 

35. Trade unions are justified in limiting the number of 
persons allowed to enter a trade. 

36. This state should establish a minimum working wage 
for women. 

37. The street railway company should pave and keep 
in repair all streets in which its cars are operated. 

38. More definite laws concerning the sale of milk should 
be passed. 

39. This city should institute government by a com- 
mission. 

40. This city should institute and maintain an adequate 
system of public playgrounds. 

41. This city should provide more free recreations for its 
citizens. 

42. City government should be conducted by a highly 
paid municipal expert hired for the purpose of controlling 
city affairs exactly as he would a large business organization. 

43. A public building for community interests is a better 
memorial for a city to erect than the usual monument or 
statue. 

44. Voting machines should be used in all cities. 

45. All public utilities should be owned and operated by 
the city. 

46. Judges should not be elected by popular vote. 

47. A representative should vote according to the opin- 
ions of his constituency. 

48. This state should provide old-age pensions. 

49. Laws should be passed making it impossible to dispose 
of more than one million dollars bv will. 



APPENDIX B 






50. The pure food law should be strictly enforced. 

51. Every state should have a state university in which 
tuition for its inhabitants should be absolutely free. 

52. The Governor of a state should not have the pardon- 
ing power. 

53. No children below the age of sixteen should be allowed 
to work in factories. 

54. Laws concerning the sale of substitutes for butter 
should be made more stringent. 

55. Sunday closing laws should be repealed. 

56. The railroads of the United States should be allowed 
to pool their interests. 

57. The present method of amending the Constitution of 
the United States should be changed. 

58. This government should insist upon a strict adherence 
to the Monroe Doctrine. 

59. The American Indian has been unjustly treated. 

60. Railroads should be under private ownership but 
subject to government control. 

61. An educational test should be required of all persons 
desiring to enter this country. 

62. The United States should own and control the coal 
mines of the country. 

63. Members of the House of Representatives should be 
chosen to represent industries, workers, and professions, 
rather than geographical divisions. 

64. Woman suffrage carries with it the right to hold 
office except where expressly forbidden in existing laws and 
constitutions. 

65. Instead of an extension of suffrage to all women there 
should be a restriction from the previous inclusion of all men. 

66. All raw materials should be admitted to this country 
free of duty. 

67. All departments of the government should be under 
the Civil Service Act. 



APPENDIX B 337 

68. The Civil War pension policy was a wise one. 

69. The United States should build and maintain a 
large navy. 

70. A high protective tariff keeps wages high. 

71. Letter postage should be reduced to one cent. 

72. Laws governing marriage and divorce should be made 
uniform by Congress. 

73. The present restriction upon Chinese immigration 
should be modified to admit certain classes. 

74. The standing army of the United States should be 
increased. 

75. This government should establish a system of shipping 
subsidies. 

76. Repeated failure to vote should result in the loss of 
the right of suffrage. 

77. The United States should not enter into any league 
of nations. 

78. The defeated central powers of Europe should be 
admitted to full membership in the League of Nations. 

79. Japan should be prevented from owning or controlling 
any territory upon the continent which belonged to China. 

80. Great Britain should establish Egypt as an inde- 
pendent country. 

81. Ireland should be organized as a Dominion similar to 
Canada and Australia. 

82. The United States should establish a protectorate 
over Mexico. 

83. This country should demand from Germany an in- 
demnity equal to our expenses in the war. 

84. The former Kaiser of Germany and his state officials 
responsible for the World War of 1914 should be tried by 
an international court. 

85. All European nations should agree to disarmament. 

86. Foreign missions should be discontinued. 

87. The Jews of the world should colonize Palestine. 



338 APPENDIX B 



88. Commercial reciprocity should be established between 
the United States and South America. 

89. This country has no need to fear any aggression from 
any Asiatic race. 

90. The government system of Great Britan is more 
truly representative than that of the United States. 

91. A railroad should pay ten thousand dollars to the 
family of any employee who meets death by accident while 
on duty. 

92. There is no such thing possible as " Christian war- 
fare." 

93. Vivisection should be prohibited. 

94. The dead should be cremated. 

95. Cigarettes should not be sold to boys under eighteen. 

96. Children under fourteen should not be allowed to 
appear upon the stage. 

97. Socialism is the best possible solution of all labor 
problems. 

98. The Soviet system of government has details ap- 
plicable to certain conditions in America. 

99. No person should be forced to undergo vaccination. 
100. Labor interests can be served best by the formation 

of a separate political party. 



INDEX 



Abbott, Lyman, 118 

Abolition Movement, The, 185 

acceptance, speech of, 284 

acquired ability, 6 

acting, 291 

after-dinner speech, 281 

Allen, John, 116 

amplified definition, 203 

amplifying and diminishing, 255 

analogy, 233 

analogy, incorrect, 252 

analysis, 244 

Anglo-Saxon, 51 

anticipatory conclusion, 102, 105 

Antony, Mark, 81 

antonyms, 48 

a posteriori argument, 237 

appealing to prejudice or passions, 

247 
appropriate diction, 54 
a priori argument, 236 
argumentation, 218 
argumentum ad hominem, 249 
argumentum ad populum, 247 
Aristotle, 97 
arrangement, 151, 164 
assigning roles, 312 
attacking speaker's character, 249 
attributes of speaker, 29 
audience in debate, 262 
authorities, 180, 232 

Bacon, 5 

Beecher, Henry Ward, 82, 83, 162 

begging the question, 245 

Birrell, Augustine, 114 

brief, 28, 170 

brief, making a, 187 



brief, speaking from the, 191 

briefing, selections for, 180 

Bright, John, 29 

burden of proof, 225 

Burke, Edmund, 23, 65, 66, 80, 116, 

162, 167, 172, 255 
business, 322 

Calhoun, John C.„ 66, 108, 206 

capital punishment, brief, 173 

cards, 134-5, 

casting a play, 320 

causal relation, 237 

cause to effect, 209, 236 

Channing, William Ellery, 249 

character delineation, 292 

characters, description of, 307 

characters in plays, 303 

Chatham, Lord, 111 

Cheyney, Edward P., 204 

Choate, Rufus, 63 

choosing a theme, 281 

Cicero, 77 

circumstantial evidence, 226 

classification, 199 

Clay, Henry, 249 

climax, 301 

coherence, 154 

commemorative speech, 283 

comparison, 208 

complex sentence, 59 

composition of the English language, 

50 
compound sentence, 60 
conclusion, length, 99 
consonants, 17 
constructive argument, 256 
contradiction, 244 



340 INDEX 



contrast, 208 

conversations, memorized, 300 
conviction, 220 

Crabbe, English Synonyms, 48 
cross references, 137 
Curtis, George William, 52, 54, 
120, 253 

Daniel, John W., 119 

debaters, 262 

debating, 258 

decision in debate, 260 

deductive reasoning, 229 

definition, 201 

delineation of character, 292 

delivery, 26 

delivery of introductions, 89 

Demosthenes, 8 

description of characters, 307 

Dewey, M., 139 

dialogue, 294 

differentia, 201 

diminishing, amplifying and, 255 

direct evidence, 226 

discarding material, 146 

division, 199 

dramatics, 291 

drawbacks, 8 

dress rehearsal, 323 

Dunsany, Lord, 298 

Effect to cause, 210, 237 
elimination, 236 
eloquence, false, 284 
Elson, H. W., 131 
emphasis, 22, 155 
enthymeme, 231 
enunciation, 23 
Evarts, William M., 118 
Everett, Edward, 67 
evidence, 226 
examples, 206, 232 
exclamatory sentence, 60 
explaining, 194 
explanation, 232 
exposition, 194 
experience, 122 






Fallacies, 251 

false eloquence, 284 
Fernald, English Synonyms, An- 
tonyms, and Prepositions, 48 
finding the issues, 267 
67, Ford, Simeon, 114 

Fox, Charles James, 9 
Fox, John, 23 
Franklin, Benjamin, 77 

General terms, 52 

genus, 201 

gestures, 26 

getting material, 122 

Gettysburg Address, 183 

Gratiano, 6 

Hale, Edward Everett, 118 
Hamlet's advice to players, 31 
hasty generalization, 228 
Hayne, 162 

Henry, Patrick, 64, 84, 85, 112 
Homer, 298 
Howell, Clark, 119 
Huxley, Thomas H., 150 

Ideas and words, 38 

ignoring the question, 246 

importance, 212 

importance of speech, 1 

improvisation, 294 

inaugural speech, 285 

Incidents of Government Trading, 

181 
incorrect analogy, 252 
increasing the vocabulary, 39 
index, 130 

inductive reasoning, 228 
interrogative sentence, 61 
interview, 125 
introduction, length, 72 
introduction, purpose, 73 
introduction and audience, 76 
invention and speech, 3 
issues, 267 

Jefferson, Joseph, 120 
Jefferson, Thomas, 117 






INDEX 



341 



judges, 263 
Julius Caesar, 81 

Kinds of propositions, SJ22 
Knox, Philander, 269 

Language, 12, 197 
League of Nations, 269 
legal brief, 170 
length of speech, 143 
library, 136 

library classification, 138 
Lincoln, Abraham, 9, 30, 57, 65, 
100, 103, 117, 148, 172, 183, 255 
list of short plays, 314 
long sentences, 61 
Lodge, Henry Cabot, 76, 135 
logical definition, 201 
Lowell, Abbott Lawrence, 136 

Macaulay, THomas Babington, 52, 

68, 160, 208, 233, 246, 268 
making a brief, 187 
manner in debate, 277 
margins, 175 
material of speeches, 121 
McCumber, P. J., 268 
memorized conversations, 300 
memorizing, 28, 191 
methods of explaining, 198 
military leadership, 5 



peroration, 109 

persuading, 218 

persuasion, 237 

persuasive speech, 288 

Phillips, Wendell, 185 

phrasing, 22 

pitch, 21 

place, 211 

plan, 156 

plays, characters in, 303 

plays, producing, 315 

plays, short, 313 

plays, studying, 310 

poise, 25 

pose, 25 

Power Plant Engineering, 187 

prefixes, 41 

preparation for debate, 266 

preparing introductions, 89 

preparing the conclusion, 95 

presentation and acceptance, 

speeches of, 284 
presiding officer, 261 
presiding officers, 279 
producing plays, 315 
pronunciation, 24 
proof, 232 

proposition, 221, 265 
propositions of fact, 223 
propositions of policy, 223 
proving, 218 



Naturalness, 292 
nominating speech, 287 
notes, 133 

Observation, 122 
organs of speech, 14 
organ pipe, 14 
Otis, James, 88 
outline, 28, 164 

Panama Canal, 110 

particulars of general statement, 205 

partition, 199 

Penn, William, 258 

periodicals, 139 



Reading, 128 

reading the speech, 27 

rebuttal, restrictions, 276 

rebuttal speeches, 266 

recapitulation, 106 

reducing to absurdity, 253 

reductio ad absurdum, 253 

refuting, 242, 251 

rehearsing, 321 

residues, 234 

results of training, 10 

retrospective conclusion, 101, 105 

Roget's Thesaurus, 43 

roles, assigning, 312 

Romance, 51 



INDEX 



Roosevelt, Theodore, 69, 100, 101, 
104, 109, 114 

Salutation, 70 

scenery, 316 

scholastic debating, 265 

selecting material, 130 

selections for briefing, 180 

self-criticism, 192 

sentences, 58 

Shakespeare, 304 

short plays, 313 

short sentences, 61 

Sidney, Sir Phillip, 90 

simple sentence, 58 

sincerity, 292 

singing, 18 

speakers in debate, 272 

speaking from the brief, 191 

speaking from the floor, 70 

special occasions, speaking upon, 278 

specific terms, 52 

specimen brief, capital punishment, 

173 
speech in modern life, 2 
speed, 20 
stage, 316 
statistics, 187 
studying plays, 310 
suffixes, 43 
summary, 107 

Sumner, Charles, 148, 160, 234 
support of a measure, 288 
syllogism, 229 
symbols, 176 
synonyms, 46 



Table of contents, 130 

tabulations, 178 

talk, 5 

taking notes, 133 

team work, 271 

theme, choosing a, 281 

Thesaurus, 43 

thinking, 161 

thought, 12 

time limit in debates, 265 

time order, 210 

time order reversed, 211 

tone, 15, 19 

tradition, 248 

transitions, 157 

trite expressions, 55 

Twain, Mark, 145 

Understanding, 129, 196 
unity, 152 

Van Dyke, Henry, 115 
vocabularies, 37 
voice, 14 
vowels, 16 

Washington, Booker T., 161 
Washington, George, 103, 159, 206 
Webster, Daniel, 10, 83, 84, 102, 106, 

107, 111, 149, 205, 231, 254 
Wilson, Woodrow, 69, 75, 105, 114, 

117 
wording the proposition, 224 



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